


That One Promise

by Foenix8



Category: Vampire Knight
Genre: Abduction, Badass, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Lust, M/M, Reader Insert, Romance, School, Slice of Life, Thriller, Tragedy, powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-09 21:41:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 40,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8913745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foenix8/pseuds/Foenix8
Summary: You and your little sister, Yuki, were locked and hidden away in your family mansion your entire lives. 
Struggling to remain content with your life situation, the only thing that kept you going was a promise. A promise that could make you experience what life had to offer beyond the tall, white fence surrounding your family mansion.
One night, your consistent and boring days suddenly shattered and changed forever. 
Will it be for the better or for the worse?





	1. Promise Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is my first ever published story online. I first started writing it two years ago on other websites. Now, I'm revising it and posting it here too. I hope you give it a try!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a reader insert story so imagine yourself as the main character. 
> 
> Y/N= Your name or whatever you imagine

There was blood everywhere in the kitchen. Splattered on the floor, stuck to the ceiling, glued to the seats. In the middle of it all, six-year-old Yuki Kuran stood still, her dress covered in blood, with a look of fear in her red-brown, wine colored eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

 

Breathing through my nose, I glared at Yuki, my eyes murderous. Yuki gulped and took a step back. My hands clenched into fists, one clutching my thick book.

 

“Yuki,” I gritted out, “What did you do?” I scanned the kitchen, eyeing all the blood, my temper getting worse by the second. 

 

“I’m sorry, Y/N!” she cried. “Don’t tell Mother!” She tried to wipe away the blood on her dress, but only making it worse. Even her long brown hair was dripping in the thick, red liquid.

 

“What did you do?” I repeated.

 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean-” 

 

“Yuki!” I snapped. “Stop.” She went silent, her hands falling to her sides. Her big eyes looked up at me, guilty. 

 

“How did this happen?” I asked, waving to the blood on her dress. 

 

“I justed wanted some blood for snack!” she whimpered. “I just took some blood bags and put them on the pan and it went SPLAT!” she said, using her arms to show big the mess was. 

 

I placed my book on a shelf untouched by blood and walked over to the stove and pan. It, too, was splattered with blood on the surface. I turned toward Yuki, showing her what she had done. 

 

She flinched. “I don’t know why it exploded! Please believe me!”

 

“What did you set the heat to, Yuki?”

 

“I don’t know,” she said.

 

“Ok,” I said. “Then which direction did you turn this thing to?”

 

“All the way to the right.”

 

“All the way?!” I cried. “You set the heat to the highest it could go. And you aren’t supposed to even go to half.”

 

She flinched. I tried to tell myself not to get angry, calming my heart beat. “You weren’t supposed to do it yourself, little sister. You could have gotten burned or hurt. You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”

 

She fidgeted in place. “I know…”

 

“How did the blood get everywhere else?”

 

She calmed a little. “It spilled out of the pan and exploded everywhere.” 

 

“And what about that?” I said, pointing to the ceiling. Red liquid was dripping from above our heads.

 

She looked sheepish. “I just-” she used her hands, tossing them in the air when she made contact with the imaginary pan.

 

I sighed, my eyes softening. “Why didn’t you call me, Yuki? I would have warmed them up for you. Now I’m gonna have to clean up this mess.”

 

She looked up at me and pouted. “But you were busy, Y/N,” she said. “You were reading your book and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

 

I glanced at the said book, then back at her. “But now you disturbed me anyway by making this mess.”

 

Yuki hung her head, her eyes guilty. “I’m so sorry, big sister. I was just really hungry.”

 

Sighing again, I moved to the cabins and opened one. I grabbed a paper towel roll and ripped off four. As I got to work cleaning, Yuki watched nervously.

 

“Y/N, will there be stains left? Mother will be very angry with me.”

 

“I don’t know,” I said gruffly, patting the paper towels on the blood. 

 

“Um…” Yuki said, “Can I help?”

 

“No,” I said. 

 

“Why?” she whined, flailing her arms around. 

 

“Because you’ll only make things worse,” I replied, rubbing at a drying stain. “I’ll only end up having to do it anyway after you do it badly.”

 

“But,” she said. “I can do it! I’m old enough.”

 

“Yuki,” I said, sighing. “You’re six. I don’t want to be the one to clean after you. But Mother and Father said it’s my job because I’m older.”

 

“But you’re only,” she took a minute to count on her fingers, “three years older than me. That isn’t a lot.”

 

I rolled my eyes. “three and a  _ half _ years older. And it’s enough.”

 

Yuki pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, staining more blood all over it. 

 

I didn’t see why she was so upset. It’s not like I wanted to clean after her. I did it because I had to. Mother and Father wouldn’t be very happy if I let her do the work. She was the baby of the family and babies didn’t do work. 

 

I looked up. “Yuki, you really wanna help me?” She nodded eagerly. “Ok, I have an important job for you. Listen carefully because it’s very important.” She leaned in eagerly. “I want you to go to the basement, take off your dress, and toss it on the ground. I’ll wash it later in the washing machine.”

 

“But, Y/N,” she whispered, “I don’t like the basement. It has spiders.” 

 

I groaned. 

 

* * *

 

***Half an hour later*** 

 

I poured the warm blood from its bag and into a small goblet and placed it in front of the now clean Yuki. She eagerly devoured the liquid, slurping all the blood. I took a sip of my own drink, stroking the cover of my book with one finger. The warm liquid spilled down my throat, quenching my Bloodthirst.

 

I glanced at the big red stain on Mother’s favorite table cloth. I had tried to wash it off but it stayed on stubbornly and only tuned into a slightly duller shade of red, almost pink.

 

_ I have a day to clean it before they come back. I have time. _

 

Yuki paused from her slurping to look at me. “Y/N, why do you like to read?”

 

“Hm,” I said, glancing at her. I frowned at her question. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, what’s so good about words on a piece of paper? That’s no fun.”

 

I shifted in my seat, then leaned back. “Reading books allows you to do many things, Yuki. Like for me, I can pick up a book and imagine I’m somewhere else, in another person’s life. It’s pretty nice. You should try it some time.”

 

She made a face. “No, I’m good. Why would I want to be anywhere else or in somebody else’s body? I’m already happy.”

 

I smiled at that. “I wish I could say the same thing.”

 

But I couldn’t. For Yuki, life was all about playing games and story books. For me, life was just dragging and empty. I admired her in that. She didn’t need giant books to escape from reality like I did. Maybe it was because she was so innocent and didn’t know what she was missing from the outside world. I did. 

 

Yuki played with her now empty glass, frowning. “Y/N, tell me again why we can’t go past the fence.”

 

I sighed. “Because we’re Purebloods, Yuki, the most powerful and purest vampires there are. There are a lot of bad, bad people out there who want to hurt us. Although they, individually, aren’t as powerful as we are, they still have lots of influence with both the vampires and humans. So we need to always stay inside to stay safe.”

 

_ No matter how long we have to be confined here. _

 

Many people had terrible intentions with the Purebloods. And why not? Other vampires all had some human blood in them, even if a little, from some humans in their ancestry. Purebloods, on the other hand, had not a drop of human blood in them. But there are very few Purebloods left in the world, merely a handful. We were some of those few.

 

From the dawn of time, we never had a single human ancestor in our lineage. With no taints in our blood, ours is the purest and most powerful of all vampires. To drink our blood could make any human or vampire gain a part of our powers. 

 

But those  _ bad _ people that could actually harm us were the Aristocratic vampires. They were the Level B vampires to our Level A. Purebloods used to be royal families, the commanders, of the vampire world. But millenias ago, our ancestors abolished the vampire monarchy and decided that power should lay with the Senate, powerful and influential vampires that made up the body.

 

Unfortunately for us, the majority of the Senate was made up of Aristocratic vampires. And they never stopped looking at all Purebloods as a threat to their own power, even though there were very few of us left. 

 

Although Yuki and I were allowed to go outside occasionally for fresh air and some healthy physical activities, we were never allowed to venture past the big, white fence surrounding our mansion. Yuki loved the outdoors and never stopped asking me why she couldn’t go any further, like, for example, the forest beyond the fence in our backyard. 

 

“Big brother gets to go outside because the bad people already know he exists,” I continued. “But they don’t know about the two of us. And we are more safer this way, while he’s in more danger than us.”

 

She nodded quietly. Another moment was spent in silence. Then I got up to-

 

**_Knock Knock_ **

 

We both immediately froze. Yuki threw me a fearful look. I placed a finger on my lips, motioning for her to shush. This was our procedure for every time we heard a knock on the door while we were alone in the house. I crept toward the main room door, holding my breath. My heart pounded rapidly in my chest. 

 

“Y/N, Yuki, open the door!” 

 

The tension immediately left the room. I dropped my book on the couch. I let out a breath, then rushed to the front door, unbolting all the locks. The door screeched open, revealing three people on the other side. A man, a woman, and a teenage boy. 

 

“Father,” I greeted, embracing him in a hug. “You’re early! We got quite a scare when you knocked! Weren’t you supposed to be back tomorrow?” Yuki came up from behind me, squeezing Mother around the middle.

 

Father laughed, squeezing me back. “The event ended earlier than we expected and we were able to come back quickly.”

 

I let go of Father and switched places with Yuki to hug Mother instead. The special event they had left to had taken up days. Mother still had lingers of her chilly perfume scent on her clothes. Her long, wide spread brown hair tickled my face as I buried it in her chest.

 

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. 

 

“Where’s my hug?”

 

My eyes brightened. Yuki squealed.

 

“Big brother!” She rushed at him and gave him a bear hug. Kaname laughed, hugging her back. His wavy, dark hair curled at his neck as he strained down to reach her level. Once she finally let go, he walked up to me and embraced me. I closed my eyes, breathing in his familiar scent. 

 

“I’m glad you’re back early,” I whispered. 

 

“Me, too,” he whispered back, making me grin. 

 

“Tell me everything,” I said. “What places did you go to? What did you see? Who did you meet? I want to know everything.”

 

“Alright, alright,” he laughed. “Well, you already know we went to visit the Senate. The same old boring buildings that we always go to. The same boring people.”

 

“That’s it?” I said disappointedly. I was expecting him to tell me more this time.

 

“Well,” he started, mischievously. “There was this one senator. You wouldn’t believe how his mustache grew.”

 

I nodded eagerly. “How did it look like?”

 

He used his own two fingers to trace an imaginary mustache above his mouth. The image I got was of a narrow mustache with long points bent steeply upwards. I snickered at what it looked like, taking the joy in knowing something new.

 

It was bad enough I always had to be cooped up inside the house all the time. Some days we were all together. Me, Yuki, Kaname, Mother, and Father. But most days it was only me and Yuki. Mother, Father, and Kaname ventured to the outside world for Vampire Senate events all the time. I envied that Kaname got to go outside with my parents. He got to experience the things I only read in my story books. That was why I always asked him to tell me everything he experienced. So I can sort of grasp that some of the stuff I read was real.

 

Kaname reached into his pocket and took out a small package. He unwrapped it, took out something and held it out to me. It was a slice of cake.

 

Although vampires only attained nutrients from drinking human blood, we did sometimes consume other foods just for the taste. 

 

I carefully took the pastry from him and took a sniff of it. It wasn’t anything I’d ever smelled before. I gave him a puzzled look

 

“The senators especially transported those from a foreign nation. They were serving them for dessert and I thought of you guys at home and it wouldn’t be fair for you guys to never get to taste them,” Kaname said. “Try it. It’s really good.”

 

I took a small nip of the soft treat. Immediately, my mouth was filled with different tastes and sweetness. I closed my eyes and savored it. 

 

“Hey!” Yuki cried. “Where’s mine?” 

 

“Hm?” Kaname mumbled, looking away from me. “Of course, I didn’t forget you.” He handed her the other piece. 

 

She looked down at it, then looked at mine. They she grinned. “I think my piece is bigger than yours, Y/N.”

 

I took another small nip of my cake. Mm. So good. “Is that so?” I said lazily. “Then why don’t we make things fair and you share some of yours with me?”

 

Yuki’s eyes widened. “No! You can’t have mine!” 

 

She quickly took a big bite of her cake, as if she was afraid I would take it from her. I mentally rolled my eyes. But soon, my cake was finished and I was only left with the lingering taste on my tongue. For a moment, I thought of actually taking some of Yuki’s. But when I looked up, she’d already finished it. I sighed with displeasure.

 

“I missed you so much!” Yuki said, excitedly. Mother took out a napkin and wiped the crumbs from her face. “You were gone for days and Y/N wouldn’t play with me much.”

 

“Y/N,” Father said disapprovingly. “Why didn’t you play with her?”

 

Yuki loved to play games. Whether it was in the house. Or in the backyard. Her favorite game was playing with a ball in the grass. There wasn’t much space in the backyard but it was the only place we were allowed to go to that wasn’t inside the house. The only place where we could both get fresh air. That’s why it was my favorite place, too. Sometimes, I would imagine climbing right over the fence, past the magical protection barrier around the area and walk right out. Of course, I never actually did it. 

 

“I did play with her,” I said. “Just not the hundred times she wanted me to.”

 

Yuki pouted. Then she turned eagerly to Kaname. “Will you play with me now that you’re here?”

 

“Yuki,” I said, frowning. “They just got here and they must be tired from-”

 

“Sure,” Kaname said. “I’ll play with you. What game?”

 

“Hide-and-seek!” she said, happily. “We haven’t played that game in a long time! Because you aren’t home and Y/N is so boring…”

 

He made a face that only I could see. I smirked at him. He caught it and suddenly turned to Yuki. “You know what? I don’t think the game will be as fun with just us two. I’ll play if Y/N plays, too.”

 

Yuki frowned, turning to me. “Will you play with us?”

 

“No,” I said. “I’m going to go finish my book.”

 

“But you’re always reading, Y/N!” Yuki whined. “Please! Please! Please please please please…”

 

“No.”

 

Mother sighed. “Just for one game, Y/N. Play with them. You can read later.”

 

Yuki, and Kaname, too, said, “PLEASE!”

 

I hesitated.  _ Maybe just one game, but I’m at a really good part in the book… _

 

Mother and Father moved to the kitchen to freshen up. The room with the stained table cloth. Mother’s  _ favorite _ table cloth. 

 

“Sure!” I replied quickly. “Sounds fun!”

 

_ Maybe if they don’t see me, I won’t get a lecture. _

 

Yuki squealed “Yay!” but Kaname only gave me a puzzled look. I just shrugged. 

 

“Alright,” I said. “One of you can seek. I want to hide. Choose quickly.”

 

“I’ll hide, too,” Kaname offered, “You’re the seeker, then, Yuki.”

 

“Ok,” Yuki said, jumping up and down. Then she ran to the nearest wall and started counting.

 

“Ten nine eight,” she counted, fast paced.

 

“No, Yuki. That’s too fast,” I said. “Go slower and start from… from...”

 

“80?” Kaname offered.

 

“80,” I agreed. 

 

“80, 81, 82,” she counted. 

 

“You’re supposed to count backwards from 80,” I said. She was seriously out of practice.

 

“But I don’t know how!” 

 

“Then count from 1 to 80. And even slower.”

 

Once again, she turned around and started counting. 

 

“1… 2…. 3…” 

 

I smirked.  _ Good. Now she’ll be at it for at least a couple of minutes. Enough time for me to hide and read my book. All I need is a good spot.  _

 

I looked around for Kaname, but couldn’t find him.  _ The sneak. _ He had already left while I was helping Yuki with her numbers.

 

I quietly slid past Yuki and grabbed my book from on top of the couch. Then I walked toward my parent’s bedroom. They had a pretty clean room and Mother always made sure it was spotless. Even under the bed. It would be perfect for hiding. I would probably last five minutes, but I could read under the bed and at least say that I tried.

 

I got on my knees and tried to crawl under the bed, but I couldn’t even get my head past. I used to always be able to get under it before. It must have been a real long time since I played this game. I tried to wedge my head through, but it wouldn’t budge. 

 

I grunted with effort, but eventually just gave up. I left the room and looked for a new place to hide. 

 

_ Maybe I'll just stand in a corner and “hide”.  _

 

“Y/N?” Mother called. “What happened to the table cloth?”

 

I gulped, turning around. She stood in front of me, a frown on her face. 

 

“Yuki tried to warm up the blood by herself and-”

 

Mother’s eyes widened. “Y/N! How could you let her do that? She’s so young and could have gotten burned or worse. We’re Purebloods but we aren’t immune to pain!”

 

“She didn’t get hurt and-”

 

Mother’s eyes narrowed. “Why was she even heating it by herself? Where were you?”

 

I hid the book behind my back. “She didn’t tell me and went off on her own.”

 

Mother’s face softened. “Be careful next time. Don’t get distracted. You’re her older sister, so it’s your responsibility to take care of both of you. Remember that.”

 

I nodded my head solemnly. “I will. I promise.”

 

She leaned down and kissed my head. My belly filled with warmth at the affection and spread to my core. 

 

“Now, about the tablecloth-” she started.

 

“I think,” I said quickly. “Yuki is up to 40 seconds. I have to go and hide now. Bye.”

 

With that, I bolted out of the room, passing Father who gave me a wink. I grinned back. I clutched the book to my chest as I ran. 

 

_ I need a new place to hide. Where Yuki won’t find me for at least a few minutes. _

 

She would obviously find me no matter what. The reason we hadn’t played hide-and-seek in so long was because we had played it so many times that there were no undiscovered hiding places left. Every spot had already been hid in at least ten times. Yuki never got tired of the game no matter what. I couldn’t say the same.

 

The only place Yuki would never check was the basement. But then I’d be left there for hours, way after I finished my book. The next best place was probably a closet. She didn’t like those either, but she did check them eventually. 

 

I moved toward the nearest broom closet. It was near Kaname’s room, so it would probably be clean. He liked to keep all his places neat and tidy. 

 

I turned the knob and slid in. The darkness was good and I could see fine enough to read. I waded in deeper and immediately opened my book and started reading. I took a seat on one of the shelves in the back. 

 

_ Nice. Peace and quiet.  _

 

The back of my neck prickled. “Comfortable, Y/N?”

 

“AHHH!” I literally jumped a foot in the air. I whipped around, coming face to face with Kaname.

 

He laughed softly. “How did you not notice me when you walked in? Or when you sat right on top of me?”

 

My face burned. “I wasn’t paying attention. I dove right into my book.”

 

“Only you, Y/N,” he said, shaking his head. “Only you.” 

 

My face burned an even brighter shade. I spluttered, “But- I- But-”

 

“It’s ok. You can sit on my lap.”

 

“No thanks. I’m fine.” 

 

“Are you sure? You looked quite comfortable.”

 

“Kaname!” I hissed. 

 

“Ok ok. I was just joking,” he said. “Sit here.” He patted the space next to him. 

 

I sat down, not bothering to open my book again. He glanced at the cover. 

 

“That’s the one I got you last week. From the bookstore in that seaside town.”

 

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s good so far.”

 

“And?” he asked. 

 

“What do you mean?” I said, puzzled. 

 

“I could tell you want to say more. You always have something to say after each book.”

 

“Fine,” I said in mock defeat. “You caught me. I do have a few things to ask you.”

 

“I knew it,” he said, a pleased expression on his face. “Go ahead and ask.”

 

“What is a conch shell? What does a seagull look like? And what about mermaids?”

 

He laughed. “Slow down. I’ll answer all your questions.”

 

I nodded, calming my heart beat. I was always hit by a wave of excitement when I find out more about the world outside. 

 

“A conch shell is one of those shells you find on a beach but they say if you put it to your ear, you could hear the ocean.”

 

“Really? Is that possible?”

 

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I’ve never tried. And also, if you blow on it, it will make a loud horn sound that could be heard miles away.”

 

I nodded, fascinated. “And seagulls?”

 

“It’s hard to explain. They have darker wings.”

 

I held out my hand. “Draw it out here.”

 

He took my hand gently and placed it in his lap. He touched the palm. Warmth spread from my hand, up my arm and into my chest. It was a nice feeling. 

 

I closed my eyes. Kaname began to trace a figure on my hand with his finger. I envisioned what he drew. I imagined myself on the beach in my book. 

 

I could smell the salty sea; the sunshine beating on my face, the breeze against my skin. My hand tingled from wherever he traced his finger. I imagined myself as a seagull, soaring through the sky, free of all boundaries. I felt a shiver go up my spine. 

 

The tracing stopped. I opened my eyes to find Kaname staring at me intently. I looked away.

 

“And mermaids?” I asked.

 

Kaname raised an eyebrow. “Y/N, everyone knows mermaids don’t exist.”

 

“But, they were in the book and-”

 

“Not all books speak the truth. You should be able to tell the difference, Y/N.”

 

I frowned. “Well  _ sorry. _ I can’t because I don’t even know half the stuff that  _ does  _ exist. Unlike you.”

 

Kaname’s face turned gentle. “Y/N, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

 

I look away from his gaze. “No, don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault you can leave the house and I can’t.”

 

“You know why you can’t-”

 

“Yet you can,” I retorted. I was probably acting childish, but I didn’t care. 

 

“But you’re safe. Safer than I am. You have Yuki with you. You don’t have to deal with all the senators. You don’t have to keep a mask on every time you enter a social gathering. You’re safe. And that matters most,” he said. 

 

“What if,” I started. “What if I don’t want to be safe? What if I want to go out and experience all the things you have? What if I want to go out to learn more about the world? Everything I can. See all the things in my books.” I took a deep breath. “And that matters more. More than safety.”

 

He was silent. I peeked up to see him staring at me sadly. For a second, I felt guilty. Maybe I didn’t know what I was talking about. I should be smarter. Not act like Yuki’s age.

 

I sighed. “I’m sorry, Kaname. I probably don’t know what I’m talking about. Since I’ve never experienced the hatred or jealousy of the Senate, I don’t know how bad it is.” 

 

“Y/N,” he said. “Look at me.” 

 

When I refused to meet his eyes, he gently cupped my chin and made me meet his gaze. His red-brown eyes stared deep into my eyes. 

 

“What is it you want, Y/N?”

 

I said nothing for a moment. Then I whispered, “I want to go outside. Out of this house. Past the fence. I imagine doing so all the time”

 

He was silent. Then, “How often do you wish for this?”

 

“All the time,” I whispered. 

 

“What if,” he said. “What if that were to come true one day? If I made it come true?”

 

This made me stop short. 

 

“How?” I breathed. “And when?”

 

“Not today,” he said.

 

I looked down in disappointment.

 

“Someday,” he said. “When we’re both older. When you and I fully grow into our powers. When we can handle everything. We’ll do it together.”

 

My heart pounded with excitement.  _ I’ve always thought I would be stuck here forever. This is too good to be true. _

 

“Really?” I ask. “What about Mother and Father?”

 

He sighed. “They know you can’t be stuck here forever. They’re just trying to protect you while you’re still young.”

 

“But they’ve always told me I can never leave the house. That I never will.” 

 

“Only so you don’t get ideas and try to leave now.” He smiled. “I wouldn’t put it past you, either, Y/N.”

 

I laughed softly. “Me neither.” Then I turned serious again. “Do you promise? Do you promise to take me outside one day? That you’ll show me everything? Go to every place?”

 

He took both my hands in his and looked at me seriously. “I promise, Y/N, that I will fulfill all that you wish. But first, promise me something, too.”

 

“Anything,” I said. “I’ll promise you anything.”

 

He smiled.“Promise me that until then, you’ll try your hardest to be happy here. Appreciate the safety and comfort of home. Don’t try to leave early. Enjoy playing with Yuki. Relish it while you still can.” He squeezed my hands gently. “Because one day you might look back and think that this moment of your life was the easiest. The happiest. You’ll need all the happy memories you could get.”

 

I stared. What could be so bad about the outside world that he would make me promise such things? Of course, I would try to be happy. He didn’t have to make me vow to it.

 

I squeezed his hands. “I promise.”

 

That day would change my life forever.

 


	2. Just There and Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An important filler before the plot moves forward.

Weeks had passed since that day I made my promise to Kaname. The air got colder and colder and the trees were almost completely bare from their leaves. No one could could go outside without wearing a heavy coat.

 

Mother, Father, and Kaname came and went. Sometimes they would be gone for days, sometimes only hours. But every time they did come back, Kaname brought me a souvenir. Whether it was a picture book, a slice of dessert, or a cup of sand.

 

Yup, that’s right. A cup of sand.

 

It was weeks ago, but I still remember it as if it all happened yesterday.

 

* * *

 

**flashback**

 

_Kaname entering the house. Kaname giving me a hug. Kaname taking a package out of his jacket. Kaname taking off the wrapping. Kaname holding out the cup._

_“It’s sand from Bluemoon beach,” he said. “It’s famous for its pure white color.”_

_I touched it in fascination, feeling its rough, yet soft texture, rubbing it between my thumb and finger. I sighed in wonder._

_Kaname pointed to the bottom of the cup. “Reach in.”_

_So I did. I thrust my fingers deeper into the cup. I dug until I felt something different, harder. Grasping the object, I pulled it through the sand and out of the cup._

_In my palm laid a small white shell. No, not just any shell. A conch shell. I knew it from deep within my blood._

_I stood their speechless, staring at the conch with my mouth agape. When the shock started to ware off, I closed my hand around the pale shell and clutched it to my chest._

_“Thank you,” I whispered to him._

_He nodded, his eyes warm. “Try it.”_

_I knew what he meant. Unclenching my fist, I brushed away some of the lingering sand on the conch, not minding that they fell to the marble floor and I would have to clean them later. When it was sufficient enough, I brought the shell to my lip and blew._

_At first, no sound came out. I took a deep breath and blew harder. Still no sound. I tried again and again. But there was no sound. Not even a whisper. I lowered the conch, disappointed._

_“I think it’s broken,” I said sadly._

_Kaname laughed, ignoring my glare. “Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s not broken. I think you’re just doing it wrong.” I huffed at that. “You have plenty of time to get it right. Besides, what about hearing the ocean?”_

_I eagerly put it to my ear, but once again heard nothing._

_Kaname shook his head. “Don’t rush it all now. You have plenty to learn.”_

_“I won’t,” I said. “But can I at least keep it close? Maybe it will finally work right one day.”_

_“If that’s what you want, go ahead.”_

 

* * *

 

I smiled now, clutching the shell on a string around my neck. Close indeed. It would work one day. I just knew it. And I wanted it to be right there when I finally did figure out how to make it work. But for now, nothing. I could only focus on the current time and activities at hand.

 

Except for getting the occasional fresh air and scenery, I didn’t care whether or not we could go outside. I mean, why not? It was always the same boring trees and grass. Same sky. Same old fence. Nothing ever changed except for the seasons and weather. It didn’t matter much to me if we had to stay inside for the entire upcoming winter. It’s not like I gained anything from going out into the chilly air in a snow storm. Unless you count a red, runny nose and a fever of course. Which I didn’t plan on getting any time soon.

 

But this disheartened Yuki.

 

“Noooooooo!” she whailed. “What will we do inside for a whole month?!”

 

I just stopped myself from mentioning that it was possibly two months we would be inside. No point in making her even more upset. Then she would be even worse.

 

“We can’t play ball inside because we might break something again!” I reminded her.

 

The last time she had tried to do so, she knocked over one of the expensive vases in the living room. It had crashed against the marble floor and shattered to a hundred pieces. Let’s just say Mother and Father were none too happy. And Yuki became more careful ever since.

 

I pretended to ponder Yuki’s question, tapping my chin. “Let’s see… What could we possibly do inside that doesn’t involve running, balls, or hide and seek?” Then I snapped my finger as if I suddenly had an idea. “I know! Why don’t we both grab a book, sit down, and READ A STORY!”

 

Yuki made a face. “Nope. No reading. I don’t like books.”

 

I shrugged. “Then I can’t help you. Your loss.”

 

“No! Please Y/N! There has to be something else we can do!”

 

“If there is,” I said. “I can’t think of anything.”

 

Yuki looked like she was about to cry.

 

I knew what was going to happen next if I didn’t say something. Her eyes would go moist, her lower lip trembling. Then she would start wailing, sobs heaving her body. And I would be in trouble.

 

“How about this,” I said quickly. To my relief, it caused the gathering moisture in Yuki’s eyes to pause. “We both go outside every moment while we still can. When winter does come, we will have gone out so much, we will be tired of it. Then we can actually enjoy being inside.”

 

Yuki looked at me suspiciously. “Will you play ball with the whole time?”

 

I heaved in a breath. “Until winter.”

 

“Until winter?”

 

“Until it’s too cold to go outside anymore.”

 

“Yay!” Yuki cheered, jumping up and down.

 

“Only,” I add, “If you try to read over the winter. It won’t hurt you try to pick up a book and just flip through pages.”

 

Yuki’s shoulders slumped. “But why?! Why do I have to read?”

 

So you can leave me alone in peace while I read. So you can sit down in one place and not make trouble. So that maybe I can have someone else to discuss my books with. So you can grow up.

 

Instead, I settled with, “From books, you gain knowledge. And knowledge is powerful.”

 

And dangerous.

 

“Knaw- lidge?”

 

“It means you will be smarter, Yuki.”

 

“Ooooh, I want to be smart! Like you!” She clapped her hands in excitement.

 

“Then let’s play outside. When the time comes, I’ll help you read better. Pretty soon, you’ll be smart, too. For now, we need a ball.”

 

Yuki’s eyes sparkled. “You promise?”

 

“I promise.”

 

She grabbed my hand. “C’mon! Let’s go outside and play.”

* * *

 

One week into the game and I was bored.

 

Two weeks into the game and I got tired.

 

Three weeks and I had practically given up.

 

Four weeks and I stopped trying.

 

The weather got colder and colder. We both wore our heaviest jackets.

 

“C’mon, Y/N!” Yuki whined, standing over me.

 

“Go away, Yuki,” I said, not bothering to glance up at her. I was sitting down on the cold grass, my back leaning against a tree stump. My attention was focused on the book in my lap.

 

“No fair! You said you would play with me!”

 

I flipped a page. “I already have for weeks now. And pretty soon we will be staying inside, anyway.”

 

“But but I don’t want toooo!”

 

I didn’t bother replying to her. There was no use.

 

“Don’t you ever get tired of reading, Y/N?” she asked.

 

Don’t you ever get tired or whining?

 

“Don’t you ever get tired of playing with that stupid ball?” I ask.

 

“It’s not stupid!” she yelled, her face red. “Fine! I’ll just play without you!”

 

“Be my guest,” I muttered. I shivered as the temperature dropped another few degrees. My jacket hardly did anything to shield me. Pretty soon, I would be inside and cozy.

 

Yuki huffed and and walked off to play. I rubbed my shoulders to bring some warmth into them. The wind started howling, it’s currents blowing my hair into my eyes. I growled when it continued for a whole couple of minutes. I shut my book. There was no point in reading if I could hardly see.

 

“No!” Yuki yelled. “My ball!”

 

Shoving my hood over my head, I stood up. “What is it Yuki?”

 

“It’s my ball!” she cried.

 

“What about it?” I asked in annoyance, walking in her direction.

 

“The wind blew it over the fence!” She was standing close to the fence, peering over it to the ball, which was a considerable distance from the fence. It rolled slightly away from us as the wind continued to howl.

 

“Bummer,” I said. “Looks like we’re done for the day. Or maybe the rest of the days, too. At least until they come back and get it for you.”

 

I smiled at that. I didn’t mind though. Not at all.

 

“No! I want it now!”

 

“You can’t, Yuki,” I said. “There isn’t anything we can do about it.”

 

“No! I’m going to go get it!”

 

My blood stopped cold.

 

“No,” I said slowly. “You won’t.”

 

“Yes, I will!” She put her hand to the fence.

 

“Yuki!” I grabbed her. “You can’t go! You know we can’t!”

 

She struggled against my grip. “But I don’t want to be here! I don’t want to be held inside the house all the time! I want my ball!”

 

“Please, Yuki!” I practically begged. I clutched her and tried to drag her away. She kicked at me, slowing my progress.

“You aren’t the boss of me, Y/N! Let me go!”

 

“No!” She swiped at me, her nails leaving a small scratch across my face. I winced, but held. Yuki wouldn’t stop.

 

“Let me go, Y/N! Please, let me go! I want to be free!”

 

I stopped. Surprised, Yuki fell to the ground. Then she eagerly got up.

 

“Wait,” I said. “Don’t.”

 

Yuki opened her mouth to argue.

 

“I’ll get it for you.”

 

She closed her mouth and just stared at me.

 

I don’t know why I did it. I should have grabbed Yuki right then and there and dragged her inside. Instead, I made one of the biggest mistakes in my entire life.

 

I turned to the fence. The stupid ball had rolled a few feet further down while we were struggling.

 

_Just there and back. No more. It will be quick. Nothing will happen. Everything will be fine._

 

Taking a deep breath, I clutched the top of the fence and hoisted myself over. Once I was sitting at the top, I hesitated when my feet neared the ground. Then they landed.

 

This was it. I was on the other side. But I could hardly take it all in. The only thing on my mind was the ball. My heart pounded as I sauntered over to my target.

 

The wind howled again, pushing away the ball. I quickened my pace, the scratch on my face tingling. When I finally reached it, I crouched down and snatched it up. But now I was already yards away from the fence. Yuki stood behind it, beaming when she saw I had it.

 

Not bothering to look anywhere else, I made a mad dash back to the fence. I ran so fast I almost crashed into it. Clutching the ball under one arm, I hoisted myself over and onto the other side.

 

I dropped the useless thing onto the grass. Yuki squealed happily, grabbing it.

 

“Thank you, Y/N! Now I can finally play again!”

 

“No,” I said coldly. “We’re going inside.”

 

“But-”

 

“We’re going inside.”

 

This time, Yuki didn’t protest. One look into my eyes was all she needed to turn around and head back in.

 

My face itched and I placed my finger over it to stifle it. When I pulled back, my finger was covered in dots of drying blood. Yuki seriously needed to cut her nails.

 

I started to head back in too, but something stopped me. Chilled, I turned around and stared over my shoulder. The fence was the only thing I could see. But even so, I was chilled. Not wanting to linger, I headed back in.

 

I was wrong before. Nothing was fine. From then on, everything would go wrong

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far there are only a couple of more chapters that are edited into the new version of the story so I'm not going to release them all at once. It wouldn't be nice at all to receive those two now and have to wait for the next one to be made months later. 
> 
> What do you think of the story so far? Do you like the protagonist I made? Or should I tweak a little of her personality to feel more like it's you?


	3. Now or Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night where it all changes...

Yuki frowned, struggling to sound out the words on the page in front of her. 

 

“Ooncee,” she started, staring intently at the letters.

 

I shook my head. “Break it apart. Spell it out.”

 

“O-N-C-E,” she spelled. “O-on-cy?”

 

“Once,” I corrected. “Once upon a time.”

 

It had been a week since that unfortunate day with the fence and ball. Now it was too cold to go outside. Already, snow was piled up on the grass, the trees a frosty white. And Yuki had no choice but to take a book to fight her boredom. She and I sat on a couch together with one book on both our laps. I was trying to help her read the bigger and interesting ones. So far, she hadn’t had much success.

 

“Reading is so hard!” Yuki said, slumping in her seat.

 

“Not really. Maybe I’ll find an even easier book for you. I thought you’d be ready for fairy tales.” I shrugged. “Guess not.”

 

Someone chuckled from the doorway. I glanced up to see Kaname. He was leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed and an amused glint in his eyes.

 

“What’s so funny?” I asked. 

 

“Sorry,” Kaname said, straightening up and walking toward us. “But I just find it really amusing that you truly think Yuki can read any book on her own.”

 

Yuki pouted, sensing that it was an insult aimed toward her. I only frowned.

 

“What do you mean?” I asked. “I read this one many times alone at her age.”

 

Kaname shook his head. “But that was you. I’m not so sure about her.”

 

Yuki’s cheeks heated up. “Can too!” She quickly flipped to a new page, sounding out each word under her breath. 

 

I glared at Kaname. “Stop teasing her. You’re supposed to be encouraging her. Not the opposite.”

 

He smirked. “But I am encouraging her. Look. She’s trying on her own.” Indeed, Yuki was but it wasn’t much. 

 

“Maybe I’m just not a good enough teacher for her,” I said. Then I got an idea. “Why don’t you teach her instead?” I scooched on the couch, making room for him. I patted the empty space next to me. “C’mon. Don’t be shy.”

 

This wiped the smirk of his face. He eyed Yuki, then took a step back. “No, I think I’ll pass.”

 

I nodded. “I thought so.”

 

I felt a tap at my side from Yuki. She pointed at a word. “What does this say?”

 

“Beauty,” I said. “Sleeping Beauty.” Then I looked at what page she was reading. “Yuki! You flipped to the middle of the story without even reading the beginning.”

 

Yuki leaned her back against the couch. “This isn’t working.”

 

“No,” I said. “It isn’t.” I looked to Kaname. “Where’s mom and dad. Maybe one of them can help.”

 

Kaname now frowned. “I haven’t seen them in a while.” He studied the hallway behind him. “Maybe I should che-” he stopped. “Mother?” He backed up so that Mother could enter the room too. 

 

The first thing that told me something was different was her eyes. In more ways than one. Just a few hours ago, they had seemed fine or ordinary for her as they had always been. Now, they looked almost… tired? 

 

No, she looked more than tired. A flurry of emotions were held in her eyes. From sadness to defeat to peace. It was af if there was a storm in her eyes. And that storm was finally dying down. 

 

I stood up suddenly. Yuki watched me curiously, not making the same observations as me. Kaname, too, stood straighter, his expression turning serious. 

 

“Mother,” I said. “Is there something wrong?”

 

She looked to me, watching me, watching my face, as if she was memorizing it. But that couldn’t be. Why would she?

She only continued to stare, her eyes so sad, yet peaceful. She reached her hand out and brushed my cheek. Leaning forward, she kissed my forehead, her mouth warm. 

 

I wasn’t sure what exactly was happening, but somehow, in the pit of my stomach, I felt that something bad was going to happen. 

 

I pressed my hand against Mother’s, keeping it against my face. I looked deep into her eyes. “Mother, tell me what’s going on.” 

 

She took a deep breath, but didn’t answer. Then she smiled. “Nothing, sweetheart. Absolutely everything is going to be fine.” 

 

Then she turned to Kaname and a look of understanding passed between them. I wanted to shout and demand to know what was going on. There was definitely something wrong and they weren’t telling me. I wanted to know what it was. No, I need to know. 

 

Mother took Kaname’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. He nodded at her, eyes turning sad. 

 

_ He’s definitely in on it.  _

 

Finally, she turned to Yuki, who just watched all this with a blank stare. She sat straighter now. 

 

“Yuki,” Mother said. “Will you come with me for a second?”

 

Yuki stood up, dropping the book in my lap. I brought it to my chest, clutching the cover. 

 

“Ok, Mother. Where are we going?”

 

_ Yes, where are you going? _

 

“Just to the basement. I need your help with something.” 

 

I frowned. 

 

“The basement?! But it’s so scary!”

 

Mother smiled a semi smile, taking Yuki’s hand. “Come, dear. It will only be a while. And I’ll be with you.”

 

“Alright, let’s go then. Quickly, so we can come back up, again.” 

 

“Yes, my child. Let’s go quickly.” They moved to leave the room, Mother ushering Yuki. 

 

“Wait,” I said quietly. 

 

Mother stopped, halting Yuki too, who was impatient. Mother slowly turned to me, her eyes unreadable. Kaname tensed, as if ready to interject in whatever I was about to say. 

 

I only had eyes for Mother. “You will come back, won’t you?”

 

“It’s only the ba-”

 

“Do you promise to be safe no matter what?” 

 

I knew that she could tell that I knew something was off. I saw it in the way her chest rose and fell. 

 

_ Answer me, Mother. And don’t lie. I know you hate lying. And so do I.  _

 

“I love you, Y/N,” she finally said. “Know that no matter what. And Kaname will always be there for you.” Then she left the room, taking Yuki with her. 

 

I jumped off the couch. “Wait! Come back!”

 

I moved to follow them, but a hand shot out to stop me. I tried to go the other way, but there was no escape. 

 

“Get out of the way, Kaname,” I said angrily. I pushed against him, trying to get him to budge. But it was as if he was rooted in place. 

 

“I can’t do that, Y/N,” he said quietly. 

 

I stopped. “You know! You know what’s happening! And you aren’t doing anything to stop it!” 

 

“Because this all we can do. Mother made her choice and that’s that.”

 

My blood turned colder. “What’s Mother about to do, Kaname?” 

 

He paused, biting his lip. 

 

“Please, Kaname! Tell me!” 

 

He sighed. “If I tell you, you have to promise to stay here and wait.” 

 

“Wait for what?!”

 

“Just promise,” he pleaded. 

 

“Not until you tell me what’s going on!” 

 

He was silent. For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t answer me. I stood frozen, watching him, begging him with my eyes. 

 

Then finally, “Uncle is here.” 

  
My world dropped.

“Wh- what?” I stuttered out. “No- that can’t be.” 

Kaname nodded gravely. “It’s true. He’s outside, right now, with an army of Level E vampires.” 

I shuddered at the mention of them. Level E’s were the worst of the worst vampires. They were the lowliest of the low. And they were no match for a full grown vampire. 

But I wasn’t a full grown vampire yet.

“Why is he here?” I whisper. “Did he come for something?”

_ Or someone? _

“He knows. About you and Yuki.”

My heart stopped in my chest. “How? Why?” 

Kaname looked aggrieved. “We don’t know. We did everything right. Raised no suspicion at the meetings or parties. Kept the two of you hidden and safe behind the fence.” 

_ Safe behind the fence.  _

But they didn’t. Because I climbed over it not even a month ago. 

Uncle knows about us. And he knows because of me. 

All because of 

                      one 

                            stupid

                                      ball. 

And now we’re all going to pay for it. 

Tears pool in my eyes, clouding my vision. 

_ This is it. This is the end.  _

Kaname put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. “It will be ok. I promise.”

“How?” I whispered, tears flowing down my cheeks. “Nothing will ever be alright again.”

_ Because of me.  _

“Shh shh,” he comforted me. “It will be ok. Mother will help Yuki.”

“How so? You still haven’t told me yet.” 

He hesitated. “Yuki will be alright.”

“And Mother?”

The silence was answer enough.

I released the first sob. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. He could only hold me as I cried my heart out. 

He stroked my hair, his own eyes filled with sadness. He looked like an old man way beyond his time. And he didn’t deserve this. 

“I will protect you, Y/N. From the very first day, I swore to always keep you safe.” He turned my head so that I was now facing him. “I can’t promise that things will stay the same. But I will always stay by your side from now on. I will never leave you.”

“But-” my voice cracks, “But Mother-”

“Mother has lived a long, happy life and she wants for us the same. She’s made her choice and she will stick with it. Let her have that.”

It wasn’t much, but I quieted down a little. Then I thought of something. 

“Where’s Father?”

“...He’s outside.”

“With Uncle?!”

“Yes. But he’s a grown man. He can take care of himself.”

“Uncle is a grown man too! And he has Level E’s with him. We have to help him!” I considered trying to leave the room again.

Kaname’s body tensed, as if reading my mind. “No, Y/N. Don’t do anything rash. It won’t help Father at all.” 

“Then what can we possibly do? We can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

“We’ll have to. There is no other choice.” 

I slumped back on the couch. The thick book fell on the carpet, but I made no move to retrieve it. I was completely drained. 

“For now,” Kaname said, taking the seat beside me, “All we can do is wait.”

So we did. 

* * *

I fumbled with the shell around my neck the whole time, exploring its rough surface. It offered little distraction but it was better than reading a book right now. There is no way I would be able to concentrate. 

We could have been sitting there for seconds, minutes, hours, or even days. I would never have been able to tell the difference between each. 

Finally, Kaname began to be visibly worried, too. He kept running his fingers through his smooth, silky hair; letting the long strands fall. 

“Still think we should just sit here and wait?” I mumbled. 

He only spared me a single glance before shifting. He stopped playing with his hair, instead clasping his hands together and sitting still. His face became expressionless.

“What exactly are we even waiting to happen?” I finally said after another minute. 

Kaname just stares straight ahead. Maybe he had finally given up on answering all my questions. I didn’t let this deter me though.

I thought of something else to say. “Should it be taking this long?”

A moment of silence. Then, “No.”

Kaname stood up from the couch. I automatically got up too, but he shook his head at me. “Stay here. I’m going to go just check on what’s happening outside.”

“But I want to come with you.”

“It isn’t safe for either of us. So I should at least go alone.”

“But isn’t that reason enough for us to go together?” I asked. 

“Y/N,” he pleaded. “Please, just wait here. I’ll be gone for only a few minutes.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he shook his head. “No. Don’t.” 

A spark of irritation hit me.  _ He can’t tell me what to do.  _

But the look in his eye had changed now. Different. Something darker. And they left absolutely no room for protesting.

I huffed. “Fine, only a few minutes.” I sat back down again, but this time stiffly. 

He nodded in thanks. “Just wait for me. I’ll be back before you know it.”

With that, he left the room. 

* * *

One minute passed. 

Two minutes. 

Five minutes. 

I counted every single second. And Kaname still wasn’t back. And neither were Yuki and Mother. Nothing could distract me from either of those facts. 

And so I finally stood up. And left the room. 

All waiting was over.

But I didn’t know where to go. Should I go find Yuki and Mother? Find out for myself what exactly Mother’s choice consisted of? Or should I find Kaname and Father? By now, it was apparent Kaname had went outside. 

I stood in the living room, looking between the basement door and the front door. 

Yuki or Kaname? 

Mother or Father? 

Who first? 

Of the two, I felt that the one that would be the less dangerous of the two was the basement. Just as I reached for the basement door, a loud commotion from outside stopped me. 

It was probably a sign that I should either go back to the other room or make a break for the basement. Instead, I did just the opposite. I moved to the front door. 

I just wanted to make sure everything was alright outside. Father and Kaname were both powerful. The two combined could defeat an entire army of Level E’s. If we had windows in the house, it would only take one peek. But alas, windows were absent from our walls. It was simply one of the precautions we took to hide Yuki and I’s existence. But right now, it only brought me a severe disadvantage. 

There was only one way I could see outside. And that was to open the front door. 

My hand hovered over the door knob. For some reason, I almost felt as if some forces were telling me to turn back and run away. 

_ It will only be one peak. Nothing more.  _

I took a deep breath and grasped the door knob, twisting it. It was now or never. What could possibly go wrong?

Then I jerked the door open. 

Immediately, I was hit with a wave of cold air. It stung my skin, sending shivers up my back. Maybe I should have thought of grabbing a coat first. 

But all thoughts of the weather went away when I focused on the sight before me. 

Kaname was kneeling down, holding someone. The person looked weak and half dead. With a jolt, I realized it was Father. 

I gasped, closing the door behind me. I dashed in their direction, my progress slowed by the mounds of snow. 

“Father! Father!” I cried. 

Kaname gasped, while Father only turned his eyes to me. He looked so frail, as if all the energy and life was leaving him. His mouth was bleeding. 

“Y/N?” Father breathed. “You’re not… supposed… to be… out here.” Each word was a struggle to get out; red liquid flowing out of his mouth. It caused me great pain to see him in this state. 

I kneeled beside Father, taking his head in my hand. I couldn’t believe such a powerful man like him was reduced to this state. And he was only getting worse. Looking around, I didn’t see the whole army of Level E’s. He must have taken them all down. 

“Y/N,” Kaname whispered, his expression grim. “You need to go back in right now.” 

I ignored him. I ignored the fresh set of tears falling down my face. I only had eyes for Father. A strained, red smile crossed his features. With effort, he raised his fingers and brushed away a stray tear. 

“Don’t... cry, … my love,” he muttered. “My time… has ended. But yours…. starts.” He beckons me closer. I abide, leaning my head closer so he can whisper in my appear. 

“Take… my… blood.” 

“What?! No!” I leaned back, horrified. To do something like that is taboo, especially from Purebloods. 

“Please… take… it… before…. Rido... does.” 

I whipped my head up, looking around. Where was Rido? He was still here? A cough coming from Father drew back my attention. 

“Drink… it… and… I’ll… always… be… part… of... you.”

I couldn’t deny him any longer. Not when he was looking at me like that. I just couldn’t. 

So I leaned forward once again. This time I brought my face close enough so that my mouth brushed his. And then I bit my fangs into his lips. And gulped. And gulped. With each drink, I felt a rush of power, as if I was leeching it right from him. Until finally, Father stopped breathing and his eyes glazed over. As quickly as the power had come to me, I felt it go. 

Kaname leaned forward and and used his thumb to close Father’s eyes. Then we both stepped back as his body shimmered, then shattered into a thousand stars. 

Neither of us said anything. We could only watch as each star rose to the heavens. Then finally, I broke it. 

“Why did he choose me to be the one?” I say in a dead voice. 

He didn’t even miss a beat. “Because it had to be you.”

Before I could say anything else, I was interrupted by a new sound. A strange bark of laughter. The wretched sound chilled me to the marrow, my blood humming in a negative way. 

“You children put on a great show. Very entertaining.” 

Then I saw  _ him _ . 

He stood half a dozen yards away from us, shrouded in the darkness. I couldn’t make out much of him beside his dark profile, but I could see his eyes. One red glowing eye. The other blue. And both of them were zeroed in on me. 

As his eyes appraised me, I moved closer to Kaname. The man simply found this more amusing. “To think that for so many years, Juri and Haruka had been hiding a daughter. My, what a delicious surprise.” 

My first reaction was a shudder. Then I realized something.  _ A daughter.  _ Not two daughters. 

My heart fluttered with hope. Could it be that he didn’t know that there was two of us? That Yuki could still be safe in the house? 

Beside me, I felt Kaname squeeze my shoulder. He must have realized this too. 

Then there was still hope of making everything ok. 

Kaname pushed me behind him. “Leave us, Uncle, and I will spare you for today.”

I peered past Kaname’s side to see a disgusting smile split across Rido’s face. “Now, now, nephew. I can’t just leave now. Not without what I came for.” 

I sucked in a breath.  _ He’s not going to leave.  _ And I really shouldn’t have been surprised. 

_ At least he doesn’t know about Yuki.  _

Kaname stood straighter. “Then you leave me no choice but to dispose of your presence from this world right now.” With that, Kaname took a stance, building power in his form. And then he aimed it a specific point, where Rido was.

The air where Uncle stood exploded, but he was quick and had already flitted away to another spot. Kaname aimed again and again, exploding the air. But each time he was a second too late to catch Rido. 

Still, I watched in amazement each time Kaname exploded the air.  _ This must be one of his unlocked powers.  _ If he could just get it to hit Rido, then this would all be over.

Then, suddenly, Rido disappeared from our view completely. Whipping my head back and forth, I surveyed my surroundings, trying to find him. But he was nowhere. And this was started to scare me. It was like being completely vulnerable and open to all attack. 

Kaname pushed me further back behind him. Hardening his form, he gathered more and more energy, building the power. This blast would be even more powerful than the others. And it might be able to do the job. 

But as Kaname, gathered more and more, I could see the strain it was having on him. He needed to finally release all that power at some point. Or might he lose control over it. If only Rido could just show up already. 

I took another step back, searching for him. Then my back hit a wall. Or a person. A scream built in my throat, but before I could release it, a hand covered my mouth. Any sounds I tried to make were trapped. I felt an arm encircle me and shoving me against a hard chest. 

I trashed against the person, but it was no use. I might as well have been a puppy picked up by the scruff of her neck. 

Then I felt the scene around me change. We were no longer behind Kaname. Instead we appeared to be in the dark shadows of the trees. Rido chuckled. 

My heart leapt.  _ Yes! Now Kaname would spot us and save me! _

But that’s not what happened. 

Kaname finally caught sight of our movement. But he didn’t see me. He only saw Rido’s glowing, mismatched eyes. So that’s why he took aim and directed his power at our direction. Right before the explosion hit us, Rido took a step forward into the light, revealing me in his encircled arms. 

Kaname’s eyes widened in horror but it was too late. 

“NO!” he screamed. 

  
And then my world turned black.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm all caught up in posting the new version here, so there are no other pre released ones. Though, I'm currently working on the next part.


	4. Black Snow

Kaname tried to rush to the spot where only a second ago he had released his energy explosion. But as all the explosions were taxing and drained so much of his energy, he fell to the ground after only two steps. He didn’t know how long he had blacked out but it must have not been long because there wasn’t much change in the scenery.

 

He moved on his knees and clawed at the ashes lying on the spot where you and Rido had last stood, as if hoping you were just merely lying underneath it all. When he had flung away every trace of the black dust, but found nothing, he stood up with a jolt. Quickly, he scanned his surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of some sign that you were still alive. Although he was already exhausted from the previous fight, he closed his eyes, spending more energy trying to sense you.

 

But… there was absolutely nothing. He couldn’t find a trace of your existence at all.

 

Kaname had always kept a calm facade all his life. Nobody, besides those closest to him, had ever been able to tell what he was truly thinking. Now, his mask cracked. And there was nothing he could do to cover up the anguish in his eyes.

 

A low moan started up in his throat. “Y/N…”

 

Only the snow and wind heard his moans.

 

_Y/N...Where are you where are you where are_

 

Nobody responded to his inner calls.

 

_Come back to me. Please!_

 

Knees buckling, he collapsed on his back and gazed at the sky. It only stared back bleakly at him, apparently already in it’s own foul mood.

 

_I’m so sorry, Y/N. I’m so so sorry. Now I can never tell you that…_

 

The wind howled on. And only moments later did he sense something.

 

Or someone.

 

Kaname bolted up right. _Could it be? Was it possible?_ He focused all his energy on that presence, clinging all his hope on to it like a drowning man.

 

And then he knew who it was.

 

His eyes lost some of the light in them. Spending another few minutes just staring at the sky, gathering his energy, he collecting himself. Then he headed in the direction he knew would lead him to Yuki.

 

* * *

When I finally came to, I was no longer in front of the house. Or near the fence, for that matter.

 

As my eyes took in what was around me, I realized I was nowhere near either of those places at all. And for once, the thought terrified me.

 

The area around me seemed to be at the edge of a forest. Everywhere I looked, there was snow covered trees. Their height forced me to crane my neck to see the top.

 

I felt a pressure around my middle, as if someone was squeezing it; I realized Rido was still holding on to me. Tilting my head up, my eyes met his mismatched eyes. They were so cold, carrying a chill. Looking into them reminded me of the time I saw an image of a snake in one of my picture books. Narrow and sly. As slippery as a swamp. Spindly like a spider.

 

And they looked like they were ready to devour me.

 

My instincts kicked in. With a shriek, I thrashed in his grip.

 

“Ahhh! Let me go! Let me go!”

 

I kicked and clawed at any skin I came into contact with. But to my surprise and disdain, his grip on me only got tighter and my struggling didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest.

 

This only made me panic further. With a yowl, I kicked as hard as I could backwards, at his knee. I felt something crack and hoped it was the sound of bone shattering. This finally got a reaction out of him. He removed one of his arms from around me and-

 

**_Slap_ **

 

The sound of his knuckles hitting my flesh echoed all around. My head whipped to one side, hitting at an odd angle. The blow temporarily made my vision fill with black spots, my world turning cloudy. When my eyes focused again, they were met with the harsh glare of my captor. A sound escaped my lips, sounding like a whimper. He finally spoke.

 

“Quiet, little girl,” he growled. His voice was deep and low. In another time and place, I might have found it comforting in a sort of fatherly way. But no, his tone was all wrong. Now it only caused me to cringe.

 

“Where are we?!” I bluttered out. “Where’s Kaname? What did you do back there? What are you going to do with me?”

 

I probably should have shut up but it was as if dam had cracked and all my questions were spilling out before I could hold them in. Real panic was starting to settle in.

 

“Wh-” I stopped. His grip around my middle was tightening till the point that it was starting to be painful.

 

“St- Stop,” I gasped, trying to thrash out of his grip, but to no avail. “You’re hurting me!”

 

“If I tell you to be quiet, you will be quiet,” he hissed. I immediately snapped my mouth shut as if in response to the fear bubbling through my veins.

 

“Good girl,” he murmured and stroked my hair. His touch was gentle, yet clammy at the same time, as if coming into contact with something long and slippery. I couldn’t stop my body from shaking.

 

“Let me get a good look at you,” he said.

 

He turned my body around effortlessly so that I was facing him. I was glad that I was not pressed against him anymore but now I had to directly look at his face. For the first time, I got to see him clearly and up close.

 

The man before me was… shrewd. I couldn’t think of a better word to describe him. His dark, messy hair reached past his shoulders, the ends curling. His skin was so pale, it gave off an unhealthy hue. His red eye looked so similar to my father’s, yet different. The color was a chilly shade I had never seen before. The feeling they gave off when I stared into them were definitely not the same. All in all, he was both beautiful and repulsive at the same time. It was a shrewd sort of beauty, if that was even possible.

 

His mouth stretched in a grin as his eyes scanned my face. Wherever they lingered, my skin involuntarily prickled. I got the urge to cover my face but instead simply broke his gaze and looked away. I tried to focus on the area below his neck.

 

He used his fingers to lift my chin so that I had no choice but to look into his eyes again. They gleamed with some kind of emotion I couldn’t decipher.

 

“You don’t look much like Juri,” he mused. “Or even Haruka for the matter…”

 

I knew he wasn’t implying anything exactly, just simply observing, but nevertheless it still stung to be reminded how different I looked from my parents. It had always been something that bothered me. One day when I asked Mother why I didn’t have her eyes, she took me onto her lap and told me that some children were just born different and it made them special. Father had added that I might start to look like them as I grew older.

 

Every year since then, I would gaze in a mirror, then at my parents, hoping my features had started to match theirs. There were never any big changes but that had never bothered me too much. It did irk me that Kaname already looked like Father and didn’t have to wait. Yuki was already a mini version of Mother.  

 

Now I would never be able to look at either of my parents ever again. And it was all because of the man standing right before me. My heart clenched in both grief and anger. My wild emotions clouded my brain.

 

“I don’t look like you either,” I retorted without thinking. “And I’m glad about that.”

 

The air around me suddenly seemed to lower in temperature as the man’s eyes flashed. I shivered and not just from the cold.

 

“What,” he said slowly, “did you say?” There was only coldness in his eyes now.

 

This time, I kept my mouth shut and stared straight ahead. I didn’t answer him.

 

The man quietly chuckled. “Juri was never as sharp tongued, either. You really are something else.” When I didn’t reply, his grip on me tightened.

 

Finally, I looked up. “What do you want with me?” I tried to keep my voice from trembling.

 

Multiple scenarios flashed through my head. Would he kill me? Drink my blood? Sell me to the senate? There were many more possibilities, none of them good. Things would not end well for me. For all I knew, this could be my last moment alive.

 

With a pang, I realized this was what my parents had always been protecting me from. All those years trapped in the house were to protect me from all those scenarios. I had been so selfish, telling Kaname I would rather risk everything and venture outside. Now here I was, in the hands of my parents’ killer. If I could, I would give anything to turn back the clock to go back to living my boring but safe life in the house. But it was too late.

 

The killer before me contemplated my answer. “What I choose to do with you is none of your concern,” he said slowly, as if speaking to a younger child.

 

“I can do whatever I want with you and there is nothing you can do about it.” His mouth stretched into a grin, no hint of warmth coming from it. “No one can stop me.”

 

_Except for Kaname._

 

Hope bubbled in my chest. Kaname was strong. I knew he could do something. Somehow, I needed to let him know where I was and how to find me.

 

My expression must have betrayed my face because even though I hadn’t uttered a single word, he already knew what I was thinking. I expected him to get angry but instead, he laughed.

 

“You think that boy can save you? Preposterous!” Seeing my puzzled expression, he explained, “His explosions had no effect on me, only allowing me the chance to make my escape while he was inert on the ground.”

 

My throat dried. Kaname had been so impressive with those explosions. Yet it had done nothing to Rido. “But how? His power...”

 

“How did it have no effect on me?” I expected him to answer, but instead, his lips curled upward. “The only thing you need to know is that he can’t stop me.”

 

I was no expert at reading people, but I had a feeling that he wasn’t lying. But he didn’t know Kaname like I did. From all the times I spent with Kaname, he always carried this powerful aura that could bring anyone to their knees. My brother was no ordinary vampire. I just knew it. He might not be able to do anything now, but that was only because he was still young. Given time, he would reach his highest potential.

 

But would I even last until then?

 

What hope I had in my chest started to dwindle a little. I started to feel a heavy emotion that I couldn’t push down.

 

He nodded once. “You finally understand now that you won’t be leaving. Ever.”

 

I didn’t bother responding. My despair wouldn’t let me care.

 

He moved to flick my forehead. I felt a strange power hit me and my world started to go black again. This time I accepted the calm quiet it brought.

 

_In a hazy dream, I found myself carried in the arms of a man. But he was no prince charming. He brought me to his dark castle and laid me down in a mysterious room. But when he tried to devour my blood, he found that he couldn’t. My blood turned black and sizzled his skin when it made contact. The entire castle shaking from his howl, he ordered a couple of nearby servants to carry me away to another room. He promised to deal with me later._


	5. Unescapable

This time, when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a new room. The walls, ceiling, and bed I was on were all white. In fact, most of the room was a plain pale color. A large dressing table with a large mirror stood across from the bed, a small rug on the floor in between. Candles lit up the room, giving it enough light to counter the gloomy atmosphere. There were no windows.

 

The bland, dusty furniture and the candles gave the impression that the room was very old. What use were there for candles when one light bulb could give the same results?

 

At first, my curiosity for my surroundings got the better of me and my mind was distracted as I surveyed the area. Then I finally asked myself why I was here and how. Besides the bedrooms in the Kuran mansion, I had never been in any others.

 

And then it finally hit me. The barcade on our home. Father dying. Uncle grabbing on to me.

 

Each memory brought a blow to me as I was awash with pain and grief. My lower lip trembled as my vision clouded with tears. But the last thought of Uncle made my breath hitch as true fear pumped in me.

 

Uncle had not told me what he was planning to do with me, but he had been certain that I would not be able to escape from him. And now here I was.

 

But where was _here_? And most importantly – where was Uncle?

 

I tensed, half believing he would pop out of thin air any second. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. But as a minute passed and nothing happened, my shoulders started to relax the slightest bit.

 

Another memory came to me, but this one was more hazy and dreamlike.

 

_A dark room._

 

_Fangs going for my neck._

 

_Pain and more pain._

 

_Then black blood dripping._

 

_A man’s howl._

 

I wasn’t sure what was reality and what was a dream. I lifted my hand to my neck, expecting to feel a wound or maybe some dried up black blood. But the area was completely smooth and in the mirror across from the bed, I saw that my veins were their usual color.

 

A dream then. Or just a figment of my imagination.

 

But one thing was for certain. I had to get out of here. Before _he_ turned up.

 

Craning my neck around, I found the two doors on either side of my bed. No way, it couldn’t be that easy. But I had to try something.

 

I hesitated, then got up from my spot on the bed. My bare feet brushed against the soft rug as I reached for the door knob on my right. I didn’t pull right away. Pressing my ear against the door, I listened for any sounds on the other side that might give me any warning. When I heard nothing, I leaned back and slowly, quite gently, turned the knob, hardly making a sound at all.

 

The door only opened a crack but I could already make out the small space within. It was a closet. And except for the hangers dangling at the top, there were no clothing inside. Maybe this room didn’t belong to anyone.

 

Releasing a breath, I shut the closet door and tried for the other one. Before I could even put my ear against the door, I heard footsteps coming from the other side.

 

My heart jumped. Someone was coming!

 

I turned around and leapt back onto the bed. The room was small to begin with so it was no big feat.

 

The door opened and I shifted in my position as if just now I was waking up and not moments earlier like I really had. I blinked my eyes, as if still bleary from sleep, and saw two people in the doorway.

 

They were two young women in servant clothes, likely Level C vampires. Both were holding feather dusters in their hands. They must have been here to dust the furniture.

 

The women looked surprised that I was awake and for a while weren’t sure what to do. Finally, they snapped into action and bowed to me. Their heads lowered halfway, their backs straight. It looked like they had done this many times before. I certainly wasn’t used to anyone bowing to me.

 

Straightening up again, one of them leaned over and muttered something to the other. Bowing down to me, again, she turned and left the room.

 

The remaining girl stood awkwardly in the doorway. I realized she was actually pretty young, maybe in her late teens. She hesitated before stepping in and started to go about her business dusting the furniture.

 

About a dozen questions popped up in my head. _Where was I? Who were the two women? Where did the other woman go?_ And most importantly, _where was Uncle?_ More questions kept adding up.

 

I glanced at the servant girl. She looked timid and innocent. Although I didn’t trust her, I decided it was a safe bet to ask her some of my questions.

 

Lifting the blanket off my body, I sat up and spoke. “Excuse me, but may I ask where am I?”

 

The girl froze in her actions and turned to me. Her eyes were filled with multiple confusing emotions that mostly centered around fear. “I-I-” she stuttered out.

 

I frowned, not understanding why she seemed so afraid of me. Was it because I was a Pureblood? It was a little understandable that other vampires would be in awe and fear in the presence of higher vampires, but that didn’t seem like it.

 

“Speak,” I snapped. As a Level C, she was supposed to respect me and listen to me. The bow from before showed she knew her place, even if I hadn’t wanted it from her. “Answer my question.”

 

She trembled, the feather duster in her hand shaking. “W-we are currently in Kuran Castle, my lady.”

 

My eyebrows rose at what she had addressed me as but that should have also been normal considering my higher status. My mind moved to a deeper issue.

 

“Kuran Castle?” I had never heard Mother or Father mention it. Could there be other Kuran Purebloods here? I wasn’t sure whether or not that was a good thing. “Who resides here?”

 

She lowered her head. “The M-Master of the Castle, some of his followers, and servants.”

 

My heart clenched. “And who is the Master you speak of?” It was very obvious but I asked anyway.

 

She didn’t answer me, keeping her gaze lowered.

 

“Speak!” I said, growing impatient.

 

She paused, then looked up at me. “Please, Lady! It would be disrespectful for this one lowly one to say his name!”  

 

I didn’t remember there being a rule that lower vampires weren’t allowed to call a Pureblood by their name. The rules here must have been different.

 

I looked to her again. Her voice had especially trembled when she had spoken of the Master. Could he be the one she actually feared? An image of a pair of cold, mismatched eyes appeared in my head. I shivered. Maybe I should be a little more gentle with her.

 

“I think I can guess the name of your Master. If I guess it right, can you tell me if I’m right?” There should be no problem there since I’m the same status as him.

 

She thought about it for a second, making sure it was alright, then nodded hastily, as if afraid she had taken too long to respond.

 

“His name,” I said slowly. “It’s…..Rido Kuran.”

 

The name was hard for me to get out. I had always only called him Uncle. But saying his full name brought chills to my bones.

 

Her eyes flashed, as if hearing the very name brought unease in her. Then she lowered her chin once and lifted it again. A nod.

 

I shouldn’t have been surprised. But having it confirmed aloud made it a whole lot more real. My body slumped back on the bed.

 

 _So this is what he planned for me._ _Or at least the start of it._

 

The servant girl looked panicked as if she’d done something wrong. I quickly gave her a smile, though probably not a convincing one, to let her know I was ok.

 

Uncle ran this Castle. No-- not Uncle. He was no family of mine. Real uncles didn’t kill their brothers or kidnap their nieces. This man was Rido Kuran. Only Rido. Master of this castle.

 

And I was in his territory. With his followers and servants. All his people.

 

Was there actually a possibility that I would ever get away from this place? He himself had clearly stated there wasn’t.

 

I turned back to the servant girl. She hadn’t gone back to her dusting, only looking at me after I’d slumped in bed. She tensed when my dreary gaze landed on her again.

 

“What does he want with me?” I whispered, my voice getting heavy.

 

She didn’t answer. Her eyes were blank. She probably didn’t even know the answer.

 

I remembered another one of my earlier questions. “Where did the other girl go?”

 

She looked back at me, not saying a word. I was getting tired of her silence and blank looks.

 

“She said something to you before she left,” I said, a hint of anger showing up in my tone. “What did she say to you? Where did she go?”

 

My tone snapped her out of her out of her secrecy. “She went to go inform the Master of your awakening.”

 

_Inform the Master of my awakening._

 

I did not like the sound of that. Not at all. My stomach filled with dread. I half wished I could go back to sleep and never wake up from this nightmare. Maybe it would be a lot more peaceful than way.

 

Instead, I just laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling with dazed eyes. After a few minutes, the servant girl went back to her dusting, but this time not as diligently. I didn’t care either way.

 

Minutes or hours could have passed. I didn’t notice any of it.

 

Then, finally, the other servant girl came back, bowing to me as she entered. My shoulders stiffened as I waited for another figure to come into the room after her. None came. The girl, just like the other one, went to dusting the furniture.

 

I watched the doorway, still expecting someone to enter any moment. When minutes passed and both girls looked like they were almost done cleaning, I spoke again.

 

“He’s not going to come see me, is he?” My voice shook a little at the end. The question was a little pointless. Of course he was going to see me. If not now, he would at some point.

 

They both exchanged glances. Then the one who had left before spoke. “He’ll come when he he finally knows what to do with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think of the story so far? Liking it? Hating it? 
> 
> Any theories as to her dream or why her blood turned black? Or maybe what Rido has planned for her?
> 
> I'd love to know all your thoughts!


	6. Daytime Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly a filler chapter before the next big one

For almost three days, I stayed put in the plain, white bedroom. Most nights, I just laid there on my bed to mourn my lost family in silence. There wasn’t much else to do. I thought of each of their faces and held on to all the memories. Mother and Father were gone, that was sure. They wouldn’t be coming back. If Rido decided to kill me and I lost my life now, would I be united with them? The thought of never seeing them again scared me.

 

I silently prayed that if there was a next life, Mother and Father would find each other and we could all be together, again, one day.

 

_Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I died anytime now._

 

What did I have to live for if I wasn’t with the people I loved? I was locked in a confined space once again. Last time it was my family’s mansion. Now it was this room. This time I didn’t even have Yuki with me.

 

_Yuki_. From the day she was born, I had been a guardian of a sort to her. Whenever Mother, Father and Kaname left to one of those senator’s parties, it was always my responsibility to take care of her. I made her meals for her, played games with her, and read to her. When it was time for bed, I’d tuck her in and sleep right next to her. For protection from the monsters, I’d tell her.

 

Really, she had been my little companion and we stuck together. While I had gotten pessimistic over the years about staying in, she had stayed bright and happy, always moving forward. Sometimes, her enthusiasm would rub off on me and became the only reason that our time alone was so bearable.

 

But what about now? I was here and she was… where? Where was she? Was she still back at the mansion? Was she alright? Was she scared?

 

It pained me to not know about her where about. A sudden thought struck me.

 

_What if Rido ever found out about her?_

 

I thought of cute, innocent Yuki in the hands of shrewd Rido. The look of pure fear and terror when she looked into his pair of eyes. The thought froze my blood to ice.  _No_. I would never let that happen.  _Ever._ I would make sure of it.

 

As far as I knew, Yuki was still alive. I had to believe she was. Mother had brought her to the basement for something that day she died. I didn’t know what Mother did, but I knew whatever it was, it cost her her life and gave Yuki a chance. A chance to survive. She wouldn’t have sacrificed her life if she didn’t think it would save Yuki.

 

Yuki had to be out there. And so did Kaname.

 

_Kaname_. His look of horror after he’d released his attack at Rido and me.

 

I sighed. Would he realize that Rido had taken us a distance away from the attack and come look for me? Rido had said there wouldn’t be any way for Kaname to save me. But why should I believe his words? Was Rido not my enemy? And enemies lied to their enemies all the time.

 

But at the same time, what really could Kaname do? He was just one person up against Rido and all his followers. What could he possibly do to save me?

 

_Nothing._  Not in time anyway. The thought struck a chord in me. I really was doomed to be subjected to whatever Rido planned to do with me. I half hoped that Kaname wouldn’t even make it to the castle, at least for his own safety.

 

I shoved the blanket over my body, allowing the comforting heat to engulf me. My thoughts continued to travel.

 

It really was a pity. A few more years and maybe Kaname would have been able to uphold his part of the promise and take me outside to see the rest of the world. Instead, I’d left the mansion only to be transferred to another confined place instead.

 

_No point in wallowing in it now. It’s already too late._

 

The life I had known and lived in had already ended. This was my new life. I had to think positive. I tried to think of something optimistic and came up with a thought that made a new light start to form in my world.

 

So far, Rido has not showed up. Maybe he’d forget about me after a while if I stayed put and out of sight. It was too much to hope for but I couldn’t help thinking it.

 

And then maybe after awhile, one day, I could slip out of this place and nobody would even notice me missing. And if they did, I would already be far gone by then.

 

And- And maybe Kaname had already found Yuki in the mansion after I had been taken. Maybe he’d already taken her away to safety. Then I could go find them and the three of us could be together again.

 

The thought was a new prospect for me, filling me with excitement. Although it didn’t seem likely, but what other choice did I really have?

 

With a burst of newfound optimism, I fell asleep for the first day.

 

Over the nights, I quickly came to realize that the two servant girls that came to dust my furniture before were unofficially there to watch over me. When they weren’t tidying up my room, they stood guard outside the doorway. Most likely to make sure I didn’t try to escape.

 

Occasionally, there would be no one standing in the doorway as both girls would disappear, probably to sleep during the day, when I woke up from one of my nightmares (A/N: it should probably be daymare since she’s a vampire but that doesn’t sound right). I didn’t bother to try to escape. Yet.

Just because no one was standing in the hallway, didn’t mean no one was standing beyond that.

 

And anyway, my mind would be too busy thinking about the nightmares. It would always be the same dream. The scene in the snow as my family was ripped from me. I’d start screaming around the part when Father’s body shattered and end up jolting awake when I faced the pair of mismatched eyes.

 

The third day, the two servant girls were actually there when I woke up screaming and crying from the dream. I thrashed in my bed, causing the blanket to slip off and the bed sheet to rumple. The two girls looked like they had just gotten done with cleaning and were about to leave, but at the sound of my ruckus, both paused and glanced at each other in alarm before one of them rushed over to me. It was the one who had spoken to me first.

 

“What is it, my lady? Are you hurt?” Her eyes scanned for wounds and she looked less alarmed when she didn’t find any. “Shh…Shh… Please, my lady. You don’t want to wake up the whole castle. Master wouldn’t be happy,” she tried to comfort. Her voice was soft and low as she crouched down to my side, next to the bed.

 

At the mention of the word ‘Master’, I only sobbed harder. I didn’t want to hear about him. Or have anything to do with him at all. It was his fault that I was even afraid of the prospect of dreaming.

 

I had always been strong over the years, being the older sister that Yuki needed. Hardly were there ever times that I would be the one to cry. But now that older-sister-me collapsed.

 

“I… *sob* *sob*… hate… *sob*… him!” My chest heaved after each word. The words were barely audible over my heavy sobbing. It was probably dangerous to have said that, but at that particular moment, I didn’t really care. Logic and reason were at the back of my mind. “I… *sob* ...want… *sob*... my family!

 

The dream had been so real. And I had visited it over and over again every night since I came here. It was the third time in a row, now.

 

The servant girl looked panicked and glanced at the other girl by the door, whose expression mirrored hers. Her efforts to quiet me increased. She grabbed one of my hands, startling me, and held it tightly. Surprisingly, it helped a little. Her warm, soft hand was worldly different than the cold, hard hands that had grabbed onto me in the dream. Her hand tethered me to the room instead of pulling me back to the snowy scenery.

 

I clutched her hand and squeezed it back. Her body went stiff, as if realizing that she had just touched ‘the lady’. But then looking into my tear streaked eyes, she must have finally realized that Pureblood or not, I was still a child. A child that needed comfort. Her body relaxed the slightest bit.

 

“We all get nightmares…” she whispered, “I get them, too, every now and then. But they go away eventually.”

 

I had started to calm down my sobbing by now. Instead, I started to hiccup. “But mine...  _hic…_  are terrible… They’ll never…  _hic hic_ … go away…” Just like how I’d never forget my family.

 

“They will go away at some point. It will take time.” She hesitated before continuing. “It’s not so bad here, my lady. Things will getter better.”

 

My lower lip trembled.  _How could she say that?_  In what universe would Rido let me be happy here?

 

She saw that I didn’t believe her and closed her mouth. Instead, she just squeezed my hand and held it until I completely calmed down. I realized that my whole face was wet from the tears and my runny nose. I tried to use my sleeves to wipe the tears and snot off my face, but she stopped me.

 

I watched as she rummaged through all her pockets, turning them inside out. I was impressed with how many pockets her maid outfit consisted of, numbering more than half a dozen. To my surprise, she even checked in a place that cannot be mentioned. I secretly wondered how she was able to store anything there. In the end, she must have not found what she was looking for, because then she glanced helplessly at the other girl by the door.

 

The girl lurking by the doorway had stood back so quietly the entire time, I almost forgot about her. When she locked gazes with the girl by my side, she seemed to have understood what she wanted. She hesitated by the doorway, then decided on coming forward. When she reached my bed post, she slipped her hand into one of her own pockets and pulled out white cloth and handed it to me.

 

I felt the small, soft material. A  _handkerchief_. It looked clean and unused, with a small flower design on it. I didn’t hesitate to first wipe my tears on it, but then blow my nose on the plainer part because it would be a shame to ruin the embroidery. When I felt that my face was clean - or clean enough as it could get- I sheepishly tried to hand it back to her.

 

She shook her head and refused to accept it. “No, miss. You may keep it.” I noticed how she didn’t address me with ‘my lady’, but I didn’t mind.

 

“Are you sure?” I asked.

 

“There are plenty more where that came from.”

 

I nodded, accepting her decision. I neatly folded the handkerchief and placed it under my pillow. I snuggled back onto the bed, only to realize my blanket was sprawled on the floor. I was about to go reach for it but the two girls beat me to it. They draped it over me, encasing me in warmth. It reminded me of the time Mother or Father would tuck me in, the days they were home. The days that they weren’t, Yuki and I usually shared the same bed. I’d be the one to tuck her in.

 

Just thinking about my past made me homesick all over again. I turned over so the two strange girls wouldn’t have to see my depressed expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So which maid do you like better so far? The one who consoled her or the one who gifted her the handmade handkerchief? One of them will be a very important character soon. 
> 
> Get ready. In the next chapter, Rido will be back.
> 
> Any thoughts you have so far? Any predictions on the encounter or the over all story?


	7. Unquenched Thirst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Problems start to arise while you stay cooped in your bedroom.

One day, I woke up in the middle of the day from my sleep from an increasingly parched throat. I had gone the entire week without feeding because the little bit blood I had drank from Father had been more than fulfilling enough for the entire time since it was purer than the human blood I usually drank. But in the end, I was a vampire and my thirst was coming back to me. It was time to feed again. 

 

The next time the two maids entered my room, I brought it to their attention. Surprisingly, it looked like they had completely forgotten that I needed food to sustain myself. They looked at each other, not sure what to do. 

 

This slightly puzzled me. Why did they both look so shocked when I mentioned that I was thirsty? Didn’t they drink blood, too? I guess I could understand a little that they were just two young maids that were only tasked with tidying up my room. No one told them about anything else. And I had gone without needing any blood for days. Maybe they thought it was different for Purebloods when it came to feeding. 

 

But that didn’t explain the fear in their eyes when I told them I was thirsty. 

 

I lowered my head, rubbing at my throat as if hoping the empty, dry feeling would go away if I rubbed enough. It didn’t. It only increased further. A groan slipped past my lips from the hunger.

 

One of the girls stepped forward, “My lady _ — _ ”

 

I lifted my head and the two maids gasped, backing away with wide eyes. 

 

“Wait, I _ — _ ” I started to get up, then caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were glowing a crimson red, the pupils dilated at the center.  _ Oh. _

 

_ When a vampire’s eyes start glowing red, one must know to keep their distance. Because once they end up in this predicament, you don’t know what they’ll do.  _

 

But of course, that was only the case for lesser vampires who didn’t have as much control over their instinctual urges for blood. Being a vampire my whole life, I had already experienced this phase before and knew what came next.

 

The rush from the bloodthirst came so suddenly as it washed over me. It felt like cold air was being swept around my body, beginning from the center of my chest and sweeping its way to my head and my lower body. My body tensed from the chill, hairs rising on their ends. It was both unsettling and rousing at the same time. 

 

Once the rush completely engulfed my senses, making them sharper than before, this would have been the part where I’d hunt for blood. Instead, I clenched my fists to my side, but not too hard to draw blood. I shoved down the urge to leap and pounce on the nearest prey. Where lesser vampires might have gone wild from the rush, I stood my ground and endured. 

 

The two girls had subconsciously moved to the doorway, one leg inside the room and the other ready to bolt at any second. When they became aware of their actions, they stopped their procession but didn’t come any closer. They were shaking a little.

 

I frowned. “Don’t leave…”  _ Not like I’m going to bite. _

 

Neither moved. Raw fear was splashed in their eyes. As if they expected me to pounce on them any second.

 

_ Why? _

 

It was already widely known that Purebloods and Aristocrats _ — _ vampires who were only one level lower than Purebloods—had good control over their bloodthirst urges. They didn’t go wild unless that was their intent. Did they really think I couldn’t control myself?

 

“Wait…” I said in a gentle voice. The rush continued to flow through me, trying to pull me forward. I held the urge back. I closed my eyes and concentrated. I focused on my heartbeat and forced it to slow down, lulling it to a calm beat. Once it started to get sluggish, I withdrew my focus. 

 

The rush gradually stopped pulling me forward and ceased the flowing around my body. The chilly air was swept away and a feeling of warmth encased me in its place. I leaned back against the headboard, the energy from the rush drained from me. One look in the mirror showed that my eyes were back to their normal state. 

 

Seeing this, the two girls cautiously came back in, as if afraid I would go back into the previous state at any moment. 

 

I cleared my throat. “Can you get me anything to drink?” Blood bags would do some good right now.

 

My question made them tense all over again. “What would you like?” one of them asked finally.

 

I thought about it for a moment, surprised that I was even allowed to choose which type I wanted. “Anything will do. I prefer my blood bags heated to a certain temperature, though. Oh, and with extra flavor, if you can manage.”

 

“Blood bags?” they asked, surprised.

 

“Um, yes?” What else did they think?

 

Relief seemed to wash over their face at my words. The girl who had comforted me last time nodded. “As you wish, my Lady.”

 

They went on their way, and I was happy that I would be able to quench my thirst soon, forgetting about their strange behavior.

 

* * *

 

They didn’t come back. Going off of my sleeping cycle, it had been more than a day since they last came. It was strange since they were always around but I didn’t see even a wink of either girl. 

 

My throat started to get more and more parched as the thirst increased. I could only hope to sleep out the waiting time by trying to take a long nap. But with the pressure at my throat increasing, sleep was a long way away. I kept glancing at the door, hoping to see someone open it and come in with warm blood bags. Or even cold ones, at this point. I didn’t care what they tasted like as long as they got rid of the uncomfortable pain at my throat. 

 

I eventually started to grow worried for the two girls.  _ Were they ok? Did they run into trouble? _ Another possibility came to me.  _ What if Rido had done something to them? _ The welfare of the two girls weighed on me. I hadn’t known them for long, but they were the only familiar faces in this strange place. I didn’t want to lose them, too. I hoped that wherever they were, that they were ok.

 

As more time ticked by, I could no longer take it. My thirst was starting to make the area around my neck feel painful and dry. It felt like there was a lump there that couldn’t be rinsed away and every time I swallowed, it hurt. I had to drink something soon or I might go mad and succumb to a wild rush of bloodthirst. 

 

I slipped off my bed and took slow steps toward the door. Once I stood right before it, I pressed my ear against it and listened for sounds on the other side. When I heard nothing, I leisurely reached for the doorknob and grasped it, pausing to listen again. I tightened my grip on the knob and twisted it. Then, moderately, I opened the door, making sure to peek through the crack for any threats. When the door was open wide enough, I finally stopped, not letting go of the doorknob in case I needed to shut the door any moment. 

 

Beyond the door, there was an empty hallway. It wasn’t... what I expected. I’m not really sure what I thought I’d see. The walls looked fairly old, the kind that old-fashioned gloomy architecture was made of. Yet they were still well maintained, no signs of any cracks. They even looked slightly polished. The floor was pristine, if not a little dusty.

 

No person was in sight. The place was completely deserted. I waited a whole minute in the doorway to make sure. But now that I was here, what was I supposed to do? Walk along the hall? To where? I didn’t know where to find some blad bags. Or even the two girls, for that matter. Should I wander a little further?

 

_ No, _ that had to be my last resort. I didn’t want to take any chances. I gripped the doorknob tighter and stood on my tippy toes, craning my neck so that my voice might go further without me leaving the doorway. 

 

“ _ Hello? _ ” I said in a soft, gentle voice, trying to be heard yet not at the same time so that only the right people might hear. “ _ Hellooooooooo! _ Anyone there?”

 

Silence. 

 

I wanted to quietly call out the names of the two girls but I realized that they had never told me their names and I had never asked. Now it had come back to bite me. 

 

I mustered up my courage and let go of the doorknob. It was as if I had let go of a knot tying me to the safety of my bedroom. I shivered at the propriety of letting go. There would be no going back now. 

 

I hoped and prayed that this time, my leaving of my confined space wouldn’t lead to another disaster. 

 

I looked both ways, left and right, and chose to go right. It had to be the right direction, right?

 

Taking hesitant steps forward, I leaned some of my weight against the walls to make fewer sounds. My bare feet pressed lightly against the smooth floor, walking on their tippy toes. 

 

I followed along the hallway for what seemed like forever. Along the way, I passed by more doors and cautiously checking all of them, I found that they were all empty.

 

How come no one else was here? Was I the only one residing in a bedroom in this hallway? I couldn’t be certain. Either way, none of them contained what or who I was looking for. 

 

After what seemed like a long time with my slow pace, the hallway finally ended, leading to one last door. 

 

This could be it. The door that either led me to where I needed to go or the door that led me to my doom. 

 

I stood in place, not sure whether I should risk it or not. I shifted my weight from foot to foot. But curiosity trumped over my trepidation. 

 

I leaned forward and pressed my ear against the door— and actually heard the slight sound of multiple footsteps on the other side! 

 

I jumped back briskly, my heart pounding in my chest. There were people— people on the other side! And there were many of them at that.

 

I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go any further anymore. Too many questions plagued my mind.  Who could be on the other side? What if they were not as friendly as two servant girls? Would they try to hurt me? But my thirst also brought other thoughts to mind.  _ What if they had blood for me? _

 

I took a deep breath and opened the door. On the other side was…………..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you think could be on the other side? Or what?


	8. Hasty Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go exploring for some blood to quench your thirst but things don't always go as planned...

On the other side was… a throng of vampires.

 

Men, women, boys, and girls; their ages ranged from no older than my own to that of someone in their mid-years. They scurried around in what looked like a giant corridor, quick paced and efficient, some of them carrying objects with them—wine glasses, I think; doors were being opened and shut as the vampires slipped through, all going in different directions. Despite the large congregation and various destinations, the scene wasn’t too chaotic. While scurrying, they all managed to keep a uniform and orderly gait.

 

 _So many people_ , I thought in wonder. The scene mesmerized me, though there wasn’t really anything too special about it; at least to any normal person. But to a person that had never been exposed to such a mass gathering before, it was a sight to behold. I stood behind the door in stunned silence, almost forgetting to stay inconspicuous. Dimly, I wondered if the elite gatherings that Mother, Father, and Kaname had previously attended had these many people.

 

As I continued to observe, I started to notice something—every single one of the vampires were wearing a certain attire. The men and boys wore long black pants and neatly pressed white uniform shirts. The women and girls wore long, plain dresses and had their hair in a high updo, not a single lock of hair loose and out of place. It was the same kind of style and attire that the two servant girls that came into my room wore.

 

 _Oh._ These vampires were all servants; maids and manservants. The realization stunned me, as there were so many of them. Around 100 of them just in this corridor.

 

_How many followers did Rido have that he needed these many servants for? What was he up to that had them working so busily?_

 

Suddenly, I heard some quick, heavy footsteps coming my way as their sound echoed across the large corridor. Startled, I jumped into action, and quickly shut the door closed. I winced at the heavy sound it made when it collided, apprehensive that someone might hear it. I held my breath and took two steps back, trying to make as little sound as possible. My body and muscles tensed, ready to run back in case I needed to.

 

But the footsteps kept going, getting louder as they reached my door, and then softer as they rushed right past. After a minute, they completely faded away. I only released the tension in my body after waiting for a few more seconds. I gulped some air in my lungs, trying to calm down my nerves. The wall supported some of my weight as I thought of what to do next.

 

I would have loved to just turn back and wait in my room again, except my thirst wouldn’t let me. The tension and excitement from before had previously occupied my mind and distracted me from the itching pain in my throat. But now that I was alone again to quietly ponder my next actions, I couldn’t ignore the pain anymore.

 

My mouth felt as dry as a desert, as if I’d swallowed a mouthful of rough sand. Every swallow was like trying to push down a hard rock stuck in my throat. The pain jabbed at me and a prickly feeling gave me the urge to scratch at my neck, but the skin there was tender and the pain internal. I noticed that my heartbeat was a little slower than usual, too. If I went on like this any further, I wasn’t too sure what would happen. Maybe it wouldn’t be just a painful feeling or predatory urges anymore. I hated to think of what could be worse than those two effects.

 

In truth, I had never gone this long without feeding before. At home, there was always enough blood bags stocked up in the refrigerator to satisfy my whole family for at least two weeks. Whenever the stock dwindled down to about a quarter, Mother or Father would quickly attain more, so that in case they had to go attend another long vampire gathering with Kaname, Yuki and I wouldn’t run out of blood while they were gone.

 

That scenario had only happened once before when I was four and Yuki was yet to be born. Mother was heavily pregnant with Yuki and had to stay home for the last months of that period so as not to draw attention to her bulging belly and to give me some company. Father and Kaname stayed home, too, most of the time and avoided going out whenever they could so as to not leave us alone. But the Senate started to grow inquisitive about our business and called forth an important meeting that could not be skipped. Father and Kaname were both forced to leave and had to make big excuses and lies as to why Mother couldn’t come.  

 

They both ended up being away for two weeks; we finished our stock of blood in one, mother and the unborn Yuki having gone through most of it. For three days, Mother held out as I cried from the dehydration. When it hurt too much to cry anymore and I was at the point of nearly passing out, Mother finally gave in and fed me her own blood for days until Father and Kaname finally came back with more in hand.

 

At the time, my four-year-old self couldn’t understand why Mother wouldn’t go out herself like she usually did and attain more blood. I never did ask where we usually got our blood bags. I now suspected that they got the blood from a hospital or blood bank. We were pretty well off in terms of money so I wouldn’t be surprised if they did bribe someone to smuggle out some blood bags for them. But all I knew was that Mother refusing to leave the house had something to do with her round stomach and I started to blame it for all my suffering.

 

Later, after she finally let me have a taste of her blood, I had started to wonder why she didn’t just let me drink it before when I was rolling around in pain. Why did she just sit there in tears and watch me with saddened eyes? And she was dehydrated, too, and pregnant at that. Why hadn’t she taken some of my blood to quench her own thirst? Though it was a taboo practice to drink the blood of a Pureblood, it didn’t really seem wrong if it was your own close family and if the situation was that dire, and I would have understood if she did, even as a child. But she never did, even as her own neck started to turn red and her voice raspy. She held out the entire time.

 

I still don’t completely understand all of it, but what I do know is that she did love me and would never have done anything to cause me pain. After that time, the house never ran out of blood again, and Father and Kaname didn’t leave for any more vampire gatherings until Yuki was one-years-old and Mother was ready to go with them again.

 

The old memories sparked heavy emotions in me and I quickly stopped my train of thought in order to suppress a flow of tears from escaping me.

 

That was then and this was now. Mother and Father were both gone and they weren’t going to come back. No one else would be able to assist me. Only by relying on myself would I be able to achieve what I wanted.

 

I hardened my resolve and focused on the current situation. I was older than I was in the past when I had first felt that dehydration so I had a higher tolerance now, having gone without any blood for about a week and my last taste of blood having been from Father’s own body. That meant I wouldn’t be passing out anytime now. I still had time before that happened.

 

I recalled that some of the servants in the corridor were carrying wine glasses. But wine wasn’t really something a vampire could gain any nutrients from or even drink for the supposed pleasures it brought. And I had once heard from Kaname that it didn’t even taste good, unlike some of the other desserts he used to bring back. Those kinds of things never gave us any benefits from eating but we enjoyed tasting them anyway.

 

This was a castle full of vampires who drank nothing but blood, so why would there be any need for wine glasses? Were there humans living here too? But that didn’t seem right. There were too many glasses being carried around and I highly doubted that any ‘almighty’ vampire would ‘lower themselves’ to allow that many humans to stay at their home. As I thought about it further, a light bulb went off in my head as an idea came to me.

 

No vampire would have any use for wine glasses… unless those glasses weren’t being used to hold wine at all. Could they be used to hold blood?

 

It was just a small idea, but the weight of its propriety and the hope it brought me was enough to fill me with enough energy to pick myself back up from against the wall and support my own weight. As I stood on my own two feet, I hastily made new plans.

 

I would follow those servants carrying the wine glasses and find out where they kept the blood. Once I would find it and make sure that the situation was safe enough, no matter what condition the blood would be in—warm or cold, cheap or stale—I would quickly take some and drink it, then rapidly come back and go to my room. But if I could manage to snag some blood while I was there to bring back with me, I would try. I just had to make sure that however much I drank there or brought back with me would be enough to get me by for a couple of more days—if that was how long it would actually take those two servant girls to finally come back with some blood bags for me. If they didn’t come back… well, I would think of that later, a new plan that didn’t include them anymore.

 

I opened the door until it was as wide as my finger and peeked through. The vampire servants were still bustling back and forth. I grew nervous as I watch them go about their business. I caught a glimpse of a person carrying wine glasses and I knew that I was supposed to follow him, but no matter what, I couldn’t seem to make myself step outside. I was too afraid of getting caught right away. What if they noticed that I wasn’t one of them?

 

There were girls in the corridor that looked about the same age as me. I didn’t bother to wonder why such young girls were doing laborious work when they should be spending enjoying the last parts of their childhood. They were doing the same tasks that all the other servants are doing. Their plain dresses fluttered behind them, flowing behind at their brisk pace. My own attire could barely pass off as one of theirs. But my hair…

 

I touched my head and realized that the way I had currently left my hair would definitely give me away if someone bothered to glance at it, which I definitely couldn’t risk. I wasn’t sure that I could make the same hairstyle as the other girls but I had to try anyway. After many failed attempts and some pent up frustration, I finally managed to get the updo to stay put. I tied it all together and though it wasn’t perfect, I hoped that it would be enough to not attract anyone’s attention or curiosity.

 

This time, with the little assurance I had that I at least _looked_ like all the other servants that were scattered in the corridor, I finally stepped out and closed the door behind me, mingling with the crowd. Observing the other girls around my age, I copied their movements and stride, walking the way they walked. Except for nearly bumping into a couple of people, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be; they all seemed to be as nervous as I was, keeping their heads lowered and watching their own feet. I slightly raised my head and spotted one of them carrying a couple of wine glasses.

 

 _Bingo!_ I would follow her.

 

As the girl wove her way through the horde, I followed behind by a small distance, making sure to keep her in my sight. We both walked from one end of the corridor to the other before she finally stopped at an ordinary looking door. I slowed down my steps behind her. After she opened the door and slipped through, I followed her a few seconds later.

 

On the other side—not surprisingly—was another hallway. This one was long with many doorways here and there. As the girl continued forward, I made sure to keep far back behind her so that she wouldn’t detect my presence and realize I was tailing her, but I also didn’t allow myself to lose sight of her.

 

As we walked along the hallway, we passed by other vampire servants that were coming back from the other side. They were empty-handed, none of them carrying wine glasses. This only seemed to prove my idea that they were depositing the wine glasses somewhere. Hopefully, it was where the blood was kept. I had come so far; I wasn’t going to get caught, now. I continued to keep my head down in order to draw less suspicion to myself and the fact that I carried no glasses in my hands. Luckily, none of the other servants paid any attention to me.

 

The girl ahead of me took a few more twists and turns before she finally slowed down at the sight of a pair of grand looking doors.

 

I didn’t even fully approach the doorway, yet, before my nose caught the scent of blood. There was a whiff of all different kinds of flavors in the air. My mouth immediately started to feel a little less parched; I grew excited at the prospect of finally being able to feed.

 

The other girl opened the door and slipped through, brushing past another servant coming out. I caught a quick glimpse of what was on the other side—a grand hall.

 

When it was my turn to go through, I quickly tugged back any loose locks of hair behind my ear and flattened the wrinkles on my attire. I pushed on the heavy doors and stepped into the massive hall.

 

The space was as big as a ballroom, colossal pillars standing at the side and a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The floor was spotlessly clean, sparkling under the heavy lighting. A few old, fascinating statues were installed at the edge of each corner of the room. The most prominent and impressive thing in the entire room was a large throne-like chair placed on a higher platform at the end.

 

But the only thing that had caught and kept my interest from the very beginning was the white tablecloth covered tables lined up against the high walls, wine glasses and clear, crystal jugs full of red liquid placed on top of every one of them. More were being added as the vampire servants littering the hall—numbering almost as many in the corridor—brought more and more glasses and jugs to the tables.

 

 _Jackpot!_ I had found it!

 

I barely stopped myself from dashing forward as I contained in my excitement. I walked at a quick pace to the tables. The aroma of the blood only grew stronger and I faintly discerned that the different flavors were rare and of high quality. On the table, for every one jug of blood, there were about a dozen glasses. There were a few servants at each table, going about their tasks; some placed down the glasses and jugs, others carefully arranged the tableware, and even more cleaned the wares until it clearly displayed their own reflection. I didn’t bother to think why the tables were being loaded with such fancy glasses and delicacies; I only thought of how I was going to gulp down some blood and put an end to my body’s misery.

 

Hand hovering over a jug, I paused in my actions to quickly look around me for prying eyes. Mostly everyone was turned away and occupied with their own tasks, but a few people near me were too close for comfort. If they so much as moved their head, they would end up seeing me lifting up one of the jugs, as I was doing so right now.

 

My arm slightly shook as I gripped the handle. It was a heavy crystal and the scent coming from within was the most appealing. I was satisfied in the knowledge that a couple of glasses of the blood might be enough to quench all my thirst. I gradually inched the jug close to one of the glasses, but a movement from the corner of my eye startled me. One of the servants near me had gotten closer as she bent over and cleaned some of the glasses with a clean cloth. I stopped and rubbed my finger across the clear surface of the jug, making it look as if I was simply wiping away some specks of dust. I shifted my body away from her, reluctantly putting down the heavy jug while I was at it.

 

It was almost impossible to drink anything while staying unnoticed!

 

Disappointed at the realization, I tried to think of another way to get what I want without jeopardizing my cover and my safety. But as I scanned the room, I found that I was lacking inspiration and couldn’t think of anything creative. I longingly eyed the jugs of blood as my throat and mouth started to feel parched all over again. Dimly, I wondered if I should have just waited in my room and hoped someone would remember my existence and bring me something to drink.

 

As I brooded over my decisions of the past hour, I happened to look up as the servant next to me moved over to clean the glasses in front of me. I didn’t move away in time, so she ended up bumping into me.

 

“ _Ouch_ ,” I muttered out of habit. The impact didn’t really hurt but I was just used to saying that from whenever Yuki got a little too energetic and bumped into me.

 

The girl lifted her head. “I’m sorry, I—”

  
My eyes widened at the same time hers did. _It’s you!_ we both seemed to be mentally screaming as I stared into the eyes of the girl who dusted my room’s furniture and held my hand when I cried from my nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a little busy this week with schoolwork but I wanted to finish this chapter so that I could start the next one where there will be a little more action and dialogue when a certain someone finally shows his face. Any guesses as to who it is?
> 
> Did you guys like the long detail of this chapter? In the original version, I didn't go as above and beyond with the descriptions as I did now and I'm not sure whether doing so is a good thing or not. Since you're new to the castle and it wasn't in the anime or manga (as far as I know), I thought it would be more appropriate that I did make it descriptive. I hope I didn't drag it and make the chapter boring. Let me know if I did. 
> 
> The story pace will pick up a little in the next chapter if things go as planned. 
> 
> Please comment and bookmark the story if you like it. If I see that people actually like the story, I'll update more frequently and maybe even on a schedule.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girl takes you away... but where? What is she up to?

The other girl regained her composure quicker than I did. She leaned against the table, as if needing a better angle to clean the glasses, but only I saw how she was trying to casually get near enough to me. I didn’t move away, still stunned in place. When she was close enough to my hearing range, she whispered, “I’m going to slowly exit the room, my lady, and I want you to follow a minute after me.” Then she stepped away as if never having spoken a word to me.

 

At her words, I finally broke out of my stupor. I lowered my head once, letting her know that I understood. I turned back to the glasses and pretended to clean them. After a couple of seconds, I saw her move on to the next tableware, breezing through them quickly. Only when she reached the end of the table and finished them did she finally turn to the door across the room. She started walking in its direction.

 

I made note of which door it was, then looked away, keeping my eyes forward. I continued to go about my task of cleaning the glasses, edging to the end of the table like I had seen the girl do before me. I counted every second that passed in my head. When I reached the appropriate second, I finally put down the glass I was polishing and walked in the direction of the door she had left to. I was afraid that someone would look up and notice something off about my actions, but surprisingly, I didn’t bring any attention to myself; everyone was too busy with their own work.

 

I only breathed a sigh of relief when I reached the other side. The door had led to another hallway; this one was gloomier than the others. But that’s not what concerned me.

 

The girl was nowhere in sight.

 

I tried to hold back my panic. _Where was she? Where had she gone?_

 

I was about to call out for her when, suddenly, a hand reached out and clamped over my mouth. I felt someone grab me and start to drag me away. _No!_ Instinctively, I screamed but the sound was muffled by the person’s hand. I started to struggle in the person’s grip. We were getting further and further away from the exit door of the grand hall.

 

 _“My lady, please stop,”_ I heard someone whisper.

 

I finally realized it was the person I was looking for and immediately ceased my attempts to hit her where the moon didn’t glow.

 

I made a small, muffled sound of annoyance and signaled her to let go of me. She finally did, taking her hand away from my mouth.

 

She looked uncomfortable. “Please forgive me, my lady. I couldn’t let us risk making any sounds and bringing ourselves attention.” She nervously looked at the door leading to the great hall and then started walking in the opposite direction, deeper into the hallway; she motioned for me to follow her.

 

I did, finally feeling myself relax a little now that I had found her. But now that she was here before me, all the tension and my worries started to catch up to me. When I thought we were far enough away from the door, I finally exploded.

 

“Where have you _been_? I thought I told you to get me some blood the other day. I had been waiting for hours!” I spoke quickly, not bothering to keep my voice that low.

 

I felt the urge to go on a rant about all my pitiful grievances in the last couple of days and release all my emotions on her, but she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Because I was keeping at a constant pace behind her, I nearly bumped into her.

 

“What? Why did you—”

 

She clamped her hand over my mouth again. I felt my eye twitch in irritation and I glared at her. She shook her head at me apologetically and brought a finger to her lips. When I violently nodded my head that I understood, she lowered her hand and started to lead me again. This time I stayed quiet the whole time, keeping all my words and emotions bottled up.

 

Every step we took, we stayed alert and cautious to our surroundings. She guided me through a few hallways before walking down a set of stairs. We were now in a place that looked like it could be the cellar of this place.

 

She finally stopped when we were in front of two heavy-looking doors. I tried to use my sense of smell to guess what was on the other side, but I got nothing, as if there wasn’t anything beyond the two doors at all. I looked at the girl questioningly.

 

_Strange, very strange. Everything had a scent to it. But why doesn’t this?_

 

Something was off. Why didn’t I seem to be getting anything from the other side? And if there really was nothing, why did she bring me here?

 

I figured it was alright to speak again and tested it out. I opened my mouth and waited for a few seconds. When she didn’t say anything, I finally spoke my words.

 

“What is this place? Why did you take me here?”

 

Instead of answering me right away, she fidgeted with her pockets. “I’m sorry, my lady.”

 

“For what?” I asked. My throat started to suddenly sting again, and I rubbed at it, making a noise of pain. The girl looked at me with a sad expression. I couldn’t help but say, “Yes?”

 

She looked like she was about to touch me and I instinctively stepped away. She dropped her hand to her side and hung her head. “I’m sorry for everything.”

 

“For wh—” I started to say.

 

And then she pushed the doors and they heavily creaked open.

 

My jaw dropped in shock. Before I could even say anything, I was suddenly pushed forward and I tumbled in. The doors shut heavily behind me.

_____________________________________________

  


_____________________________________________

 

I paid it no mind and only surveyed the scene in front of me in wonder.

 

The cellar room was a gigantic space, twice as large as the grand hall. There were rows and rows of shelves lining against each wall. And on each shelf was stacks and stacks of blood bags. The very air smelled of blood.

 

As if in response, my throat started to prickle even more, but I paid it no heed as I stared at all the blood bags in wide-eyed wonder. I felt my fangs start to elongate, ready to sink themselves into the plastic.

In my shock, I almost forgot about the other girl. I turned around and locked eyes with her. She looked embarrassed.

 

She started to explain herself. “I wanted to get some blood bags for you earlier but we were told at the last minute that the castle would be hosting a grand party. Every servant was mobilized immediately to help out. I just couldn’t find a chance to escape and bring you anything.” She looked toward my neck unhappily. I could tell that it was bright red at this point. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

 

I thought about all the servants running around, doing chores. It started to make more sense now. My countenance finally softened toward her.

 

She continued. “This is where most of the castle’s supply of blood is stored, but we servants don’t directly take our blood from here. Instead, we have another room upstairs exclusive to us, and we only come down here once a month to restock the other room with blood. I didn’t take you to the other room because too many people would be near and they would grow suspicious at the sight of your unfamiliar face. Other than the one day for restocking, this place is always vacant.”

 

I looked at her appreciatively, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

 

“Don’t blame yourself, anymore. I understand that you tried before. And anyway, we’re here now,” my voice rose up near the end in excitement. I looked longingly at the closest shelf. From what I could smell, there were different kinds of blood on each shelf. The one closest to me smelled a little mediocre compared to what I was used to, but at this point, anything would taste delightful.

 

Speaking of… “Hey, how come I couldn’t smell anything before? You know, back when we were standing outside the doors?” I really had smelled nothing; my nose had failed me. It would be hard for even the weakest vampire to miss all of this.

 

She nodded. “Yes, that. The walls and doors are heavily built and enchanted so none of the blood aromas can get out. I had to shut the doors right away after we stepped through so that nothing could escape.”

 

This sparked my curiosity. “Why? Is it bad if you guys smell the blood?”

 

“Not necessarily, but this place is restricted and not everyone even knows about it. Only a handful of servants are allowed to come here and that’s only to restock our own storage of blood. I only ever came down here once before; that’s how I knew about this place.”

 

I nodded, scanning the shelves in appreciation. “Can I…?” I asked hesitantly, my foot already lifted in preparation.

 

She finally smiled, her face relaxing. “Go ahead, my lady, but please don’t take any of the ones near the end. Those are rare and not reserved for the servants.”

 

I nodded, understanding what she meant. No one might notice if I did take one, but it wouldn’t be good to take any chances at all.

 

With that, I ran to the nearest shelf and grabbed a blood bag. I didn’t bother with manners and just sank my fangs directly into the bag. The sharp points ripped right through the plastic, creating large holes. I bit down and ripped them wider to let the blood spill out.

 

Sweet, liquid started to flow out and I immediately sucked on it, not letting a drop escape. I didn’t even mind that it was ice cold and not warm at all. I felt the delicious wetness swirl on my tongue before swallowing it down. At first, my throat protested at the onslaught, but after a few gulps of more blood, it started to finally ease down a little. When the flow of liquid started to slow down, I ripped open the bag and licked every corner of its blood. When there was absolutely nothing left, I finally threw aside the bag and grabbed another one, repeating the same process.

The girl giggled nervously. “My lady, your clothes…”

 

I glanced down and saw that they were completely stained. I shrugged and continued to gulp more blood. I was nearly done with my second back and although the pain from my neck was almost completely gone, I was only getting started with my drinking.

 

“Listen, my lady…”

 

“Hm?” I said, finishing the second bag. I surveyed the room, now looking for something that would taste better.

 

“I have to go,” she said.

 

This got my attention. With a frown, I said, “What? Where? Why do you have to go?”

 

She looked apologetic. “I was one of the servants that was assigned to work in the great hall tonight, where we will be more heavily scrutinized as compared to some of the servants assigned to other places. Someone will notice that I’m gone soon if I don’t go back.”

 

“Oh,” I said with disappointment, “But…”

 

I was still hungry.

 

“You can take some blood bags with you to your room,” she suggested.

 

I looked around at all the blood bags. “I don’t think I will be able to carry back the amount that I want with me.”

 

It was true. Usually, back at home, a few of them would be enough to quench me; they were also of higher and better quality than these ones and gave off a feeling of contentment. But now, I had been dehydrated for the past couple of days and these blood bags were not as fulfilling. I would probably need about a dozen to satisfy my thirst completely. Who knew when I would be able to come down here again or get my next meal?

 

The girl looked ready to protest, but I spoke first. “Look, if I even take a few bags with me, where will I hide them? Under my shirt? No, just a few alone will attract attention to me, even if you carry some for me.”

 

She turned hesitant. “What would you have me do, my lady?”

 

I thought about it for a few seconds. “You could leave me here and then come back again in about an hour to take me back to my room.”

 

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, my lady, but that is absolutely out of the question. I don’t think I’ll be able to slip away again that quickly. It would be too dangerous to leave you here alone.”

 

“I don’t think my room is missing me at all right now. I don’t mind staying here for a while. And didn’t you say this place is vacant most of the times?

 

She still didn’t look convinced. I tried again, “When was the last time your blood storage was restocked?”

 

She thought about it for a minute, her brows furrowing. “...Two weeks ago.”

 

“Exactly. No one will be here for another couple of weeks so it’s all good, right?”

 

“My lady…” she continued, her eyes pleading.

 

“Please. I’ll stay here until you finally come back. By then, I’ll have quenched all my thirst and also chosen some to take back with me.”

 

We stared at each other for a few moments, neither backing out. The silence continued to stretch on until I said, “I’m still hungry, you know. And you need to get back soon. Are we going to waste time here?”

 

She finally gave in. “Please don’t leave this room no matter what until I come back. I’ll make sure that comes as soon as possible.”

 

With that, she finally went on our way and closed the doors behind her.

 

I jumped in excitement and skimmed through the shelves. Various tastes and smells wafted over me. I found that the best ones were all the way at the end, but I heeded the girl’s warning and bypassed them. Instead, I chose the next best ones away from that area.

 

I took a sniff of the bags and smiled. “Thank you…”

 

I realized that I still didn’t know her name. Or the other girl’s, either. I would have to ask them the next time I saw them.

 

This time when I drank from the bag, I drank more slowly and not as greedily. I took my time, making sure not to create any more stains on my clothes. I savored each taste, slurping from the open holes.

 

Within 15 minutes, I had drunk five more bags and finally starting to no longer feel uncomfortable or thirsty at all. A few more and I would be completely satisfied. As I reached for another bag, I heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door.

 

Mm. She was back early?

 

The doors just started to open when I was suddenly hit by the smell of the newcomer. And it wasn’t the servant girl’s scent at all.

 

Someone was coming and they were going to discover me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha. Be honest. Who thought the girl had bad intentions? Or still does? 
> 
>  
> 
> The next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for...
> 
>  
> 
> Please comment, give kudos, and bookmark this story if you like it.


	10. Shattered Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment you guys were waiting for...

In the deepest part of the restricted area, I crouched in a corner and held my breath. The intoxicating scents of all the blood bags surrounding me overwhelmed the aromas of all of those on the other shelves.  _ They wouldn’t come here, right? Nobody is allowed to come to this part.  _

 

The person stepped into the room and closed the door behind them. I saw the faint outline of their figure—tall and lean with a bit of muscle, definitely a man. I took a whiff of the air and concluded that his blood didn’t smell overwhelmingly powerful enough for his to be an aristocratic vampire. 

 

_ What was he doing here? _

 

My question was answered when he moved to one of the shelves with higher quality blood bags—not in the restricted area, though—and grabbed one from its shelf. I watched from my hiding place as he sucked it dry without making a mess; I was grateful that I had chosen to hide in the one place he wasn’t allowed to touch. 

 

He finished one more and I thought he might finally leave and be on his way. Instead, he paused halfway to the door and looked back at the deepest part of the room—the restricted area. My breath quietly hitched and my heart raced in my chest. He didn’t seem to be looking in my direction, but if he concentrated hard enough, he might be able to detect me. 

 

He started walking to the restricted blood bags. I watched with wide eyes, covering my mouth to prevent any sounds from escaping. When he was a few yards away from where I was, he finally stopped. He sniffed at the blood bags and took one of them. 

 

_ He was stealing from the restricted area! _

 

This guy had some nerve. He was probably doing this without anyone else knowing. But that wasn’t the problem right now. The fact was that he was only a couple yards away from me now. It would only take a turn of his head to spot me. If he wasn’t so focused on the blood smells, he would have already noticed me by now. I was not going to hope that his meal would keep his attention away from me the whole time. 

 

While he was distracted, I slowly moved back and made my way to the exit. I moved slowly and silently, taking a step at a time, looking back every once in awhile. And I was so close to making it the door. So close.

 

I must have not been stealthy enough or maybe he was already more alert than I gave him credit for because halfway through draining the bag, his body suddenly stiffened and his head shot up, whipping into my direction. His gaze landed squarely on me. His eyes narrowed; streams of blood were dripping down his chin. His grip on the blood bag tightened so hard that it burst in his hand, splattering all over his hands, clothes, face, and floor.

 

I didn’t think twice. I ran. I made it about a few steps before he caught up with me. I felt him grab the back of my shirt, then flip me around. I shrieked. His blood splattered hands gripped my front, staining my top even more. I was pulled toward him until only a few inches separated us and I my feet were no longer touching the floor. 

 

“Wh-who are you?!” he said, his eyes wild. “Who are you?!” he yelled, shaking me. 

 

“I don’t—I don’t—” I stuttered. I was tongue tied and finding it hard to form complete sentences. My whole body had gone cold and I was shaking. “I— no! _No!”_ I screamed.

 

“You saw me,” he said, hands trembling. “You saw me! I’m going to have to get rid of you.”

 

“No  _ no! _ Please no!” I cried. I struggled in his grip. It only tightened.  _ Curse my puny child strength! _

 

He suddenly brought his face closer and sniffed at me. My heart dropped into my stomach. Oh no. He was about to discover that I was a pureblood. What would he do then? I prayed that he’d let me go.

 

He inhaled my scent. Then paused. His eyes colored in shock. 

 

_ Please please let me go. _

 

“An aristocrat?” he muttered. 

 

My expression mirrored his own shock.  _ Aristocrat? Not pureblood? _

 

He dropped me in fright, throwing me down as if I was something dangerous that could explode at any second. My landing was uncoordinated and I stumbled around before finding my footing again. He backed away from me, acting as if I would leap at him in any second. 

 

I did leap. Away from him. By the time he finally came back to his senses and decided it wasn’t a good idea to just let me get away, I was already sprinting out the large door. 

 

_ “Stop! _ Come back here! _ ” _ I heard him scream from behind me. I didn’t look back. I kept going.

 

I didn’t know where to go or even how to even get anywhere, so I was running through the hallways blindly. I passed by so many empty halls and somehow ended up before a new busy corridor. I skidded to a halt, catching my breath in front of the door to the large area. The other side was busy with servants like the previous corridor had been. 

 

Just when I started calming my breath, I heard pounding footsteps coming from behind me. I looked back and saw the man from before running towards me. His eyes were wide and crazed, his arms outstretched to capture me.

 

“Ahh—” I shrieked. I instinctively leaped away and ran into the large corridor. I moved through the crowd of servants who were busily going about their tasks. 

 

When I thought I had gone far enough and finally lost him, I whipped my head back to look behind me and was relieved to see that I no longer saw the man behind me. I let out a breath and turned my head back—

 

_ BAM! _ I unceremoniously crashed into something. 

 

The collision jarred me so hard, I fell back a few feet away. I felt myself slam into something and then fall to the ground hard. 

 

There was the sound of glasses shattering and a couple of bodies hitting the ground. 

 

My head buzzed and my chest ached. “Ow,” I moaned in pain as the world around me shook. I clutched my head and tried to get up, but I fell back down from the dizziness. 

 

A sound came from below me and I realized that I had landed on top of someone. I couldn’t help but mutter a  _ sorry _ . 

 

I moved away and just as the dizziness started to go away and I was gaining my balance again, I sensed that something was off. It took my muddled brain a moment to realize what was wrong.

 

The corridor had started to go quiet. 

 

Slowly, I lifted up my head and reluctantly looked around me. 

 

The closest servants had stopped moving around entirely. They just stood there in shock and gaped at me. As more and more of them walked by, the servants grew curious as to why some of them were cluttering around so they too slowed down their steps to watch. When they each caught sight of me, they halted in their steps in wide-eyed shock. 

 

I looked down at myself, then the area around me. It was sure a sight for them to see. My clothes were still covered in blood from my messy drinking habits and also from the man from earlier when he grabbed ahold of me with his blood stained hands. 

 

Three other people had fallen near me. Broken glass was strewn on the ground around them. 

 

I didn’t have to look any further to know that I had gotten myself caught in a big mess and there was no escaping it. 

 

Some of the servants must have realized where this would lead them to if they continued to stay because they quickly stopped gawking and turned away, leaving without taking another look back. Others followed in their wake. The other three people on the floor started getting to their feet and rushing away. They left behind the broken glass. 

 

I quickly scampered to my feet, avoiding the bits of glass shards. I hoped that if I escaped quickly enough, no one would stop me and I could run back to my room. Then I would just pretend as if I never left. 

 

_ These vampires were just mere servant. They wouldn’t have the gut to snitch on me right?  _

 

Even as all these thoughts crossed my mind, with a sinking heart, I already knew I was just tricking myself into believing. It wouldn’t be as easy as I was making it out to be. But for now, my most important objective was getting away. Everything else could come after that. 

 

As I dusted off my clothes and turned around to escape, I found that I couldn’t. Because right at one of the big entrances of the corridor, a group of vampires poured in. And they didn’t look like servants. 

 

I panicked. I started backing away. Maybe my movement was out of sync with the other servants or maybe because I was still near the shattered glass. Either way, they saw me and started walking in my direction. 

 

I started moving back quicker. But they were quicker than me. In a flash, two of the people in the group appeared on either side of me and restrained me. 

 

“Hey! Let me go!” I tried to wriggle out of the grip they had on my arms, but it was no use. They were probably high Level C vampires or quite possibly even Level B—most of whom were aristocrat vampires. 

 

I was so focused on my struggling, I didn’t even know someone else was approaching until he stood right in front of me. 

 

I saw the tall figure first. Then as I tilted my head to look up, I finally saw the icy blue eyes. 

 

He was an older man; his hair was a pale blonde, lighter than any other blonde shade I had ever seen. His expression was pinched as he looked down at me with his stern, blue eyes. He looked no older than a man in his 40s. But if he was a high Level B aristocrat like I was starting to suspect he was from the airs he put on and his demeanor, he had to be pretty old.

 

I always got the impression that old people were supposed to be warm, gentle, and loving. He did look like he could be someone’s grandfather. But for some reason, something about him just didn’t sit right with me and I felt offset by him. 

 

The man finally spoke. “Well, well. What do we have here?”

 

I jerked at the chilliness in his voice. I ducked my head down, not sure how to speak. It was as if his voice had frozen my own. 

 

“Are you the one that caused this?” he spoke. His hands motioned toward the broken glass. 

 

I lowered my head further and stared at my feet. 

 

He tried again. “What’s your name, little one? What are you doing out here on your own?

 

After a moment when I didn’t answer, I felt him grasp my chin and forcefully lift it to meet his gaze again. I had no choice but to look right at him. 

 

His eyes gleamed sinisterly. “Don’t be afraid, little one. Speak up. I won’t bite.” 

 

I didn’t speak. I only watched him with wide eyes.

 

At the lack of response, his mouth twitched into the start of a sneer and I felt my stomach clench in fear. But still, I remained silent. I felt that if I said so much as one wrong sentence, I would be in even more danger. So it was better to not say anything at all. I could only wait and see what happened. 

 

The man chuckled darkly after a moment of long silence. “Looks like we’ll just have to bring you to him. He’ll decide what to do with you himself.”

 

I wanted to open my mouth and ask who was  _ him _ . But I had a faint suspicion that I already knew. 

 

The older man clapped his hands in quick command, and before I knew it, the two vampires on either side of me lifted me up as though I weighed nothing at all. The older man walked through one of the grand corridor exits and we followed behind me, me doing so without a choice. 

 

* * *

 

We stood before two intricately gilded doors. The older man stepped forward and knocked on one of them.

 

_ Silence. _

 

He knocked again. 

 

I listened harder this time, so I managed to hear some sounds from the other side. They sounded strange and for some reason, a little embarrassing. I felt my face heat up. 

 

What was going on it there?

 

Once again, the older man knocked on the doors. This time, he also spoke up. 

 

“Master, there is an urgent matter that needs your attention.”

 

My heart jumped at that _._ He said that word _._ _Master._ So that meant…

 

The sounds from the other side toned down. Instead, there was a low growl and a man spoke up. “Leave. How many times have I told you not to disturb me at this hour?”

 

The voice was familiar. It was  _ him. _

 

My breath hitched and I felt the blood drain from my face. I had been expecting it all along, but the reality of being proven right was jolting.  _ So soon.  _ I had thought I could avoid meeting him for a little while longer, but my luck had finally run out. 

 

I looked pleadingly in the older man’s direction, but his back was facing me so he didn’t see my expression. Even if he did, I doubt it would have made a difference. 

 

The two lackeys beside me tightened their grip on me as if they thought I might try to run away. As if I could even move. 

 

The older man continued. “Master, it’s something important.”

 

“I said go away. All matters can wait until later.” 

 

The older man tried again. “I promise it’s something you’ll want to see. Please grant us entry.” Although he sounded calm, I noticed that he was standing stiffly and starting to get impatient. 

 

There was a pause on the other side. I heard the faint sound of trickling water. 

 

I started to grow curious as to what the other side looked like. Why was there water? It didn’t sound like something as simple as a water faucet...or a bathtub.

 

Finally, the voice from the other side spoke up. “Come in. And make it quick.” 

 

Now that I was aware of it, I caught the sound of water splashing. 

 

The older man finally turned around and nodded to his lackeys. They understood and finally let me go. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I steadied myself and rubbed the aching area where they had been holding me too tightly. 

 

But immediately after, the older man gripped my shoulder instead. He looked down at me and his eyes gleamed. 

 

I would have to be completely stupid to not see the warning in them. 

 

All thoughts of trying to run left my head before they even got the chance to form in the first place.

 

The man opened the doors and guided me through them, his lackeys staying behind to guard the doors from the outside. 

 

As soon as we stepped through, I finally saw what was inside. 

 

For a moment, I forgot where I was and simply gaped at the view. There was a mini pool of gleaming water. The dim lighting reflected its clear surface. Artificial flowers and plants decorating the edge, and steam rose to the ceiling. Water trickled down a mini waterfall at the end of the room. 

 

A mini indoor pool with hot spring water. 

 

I took it all in with awe. I had only ever read about such a place in my books. Never had I seen one before. It was possible that even Kaname had never been to one. I was highly tempted to dip my toes in the water and test the heat.

 

But reality crashed back in when I saw the half-submerged man at one end. He didn’t see us because his head was bowed down, nuzzling one of the two beauties in either one of his arms. 

 

_ Murderer. Thief. Monster. _

 

The water no longer looked so appealing. I couldn’t help but see it as red. Red water. It took everything in me to not jump away and never look back. I shook my head and blinked, bringing myself back to reality. 

 

The water was clear and sparkly, not red. Definitely not red.

 

I stood stiffly in place and wanted to stay where I was, but unfortunately, the man beside me continued to move forward, forcefully dragging me along with him. 

 

He stopped moving only when we were a few respectful paces away from the edge of the pool. We were now so close that I could see the three people in the water up close.

 

The man in the pool was wearing a thin, wet robe that clung to the contours of his skin. The lighting in the room was gloomy but it made it only had the effect of making his pale skin gleam in the darkness. Drips of water streamed from his hair and flowed down his skin.

 

As if feeling my gaze, Rido finally looked up. His eyes narrowed when they landed on me. 

 

“It’s you?” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys like the chapter? Are you excited for the next? Please comment to let me know your thoughts. 
> 
> (I imagined the pool as one of those Chinese style ones you find in palaces in Chinese dramas. I totally recommend watching those if you ever get bored and want to try something new. You can find them with subtitles which isn't so bad if you like reading)


	11. Her Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment has come...

The older man gave a small respectful bow to Rido. “A moment of privacy, please?” 

Rido’s mouth turned down in displeasure, and for a moment, I thought he might refuse. But instead, he unwound himself from the clutches of the two girls and settled himself in a comfortable sitting position in the water. The two girls took the hint and left the chamber, throwing me a curious look on their way out. The doors shut heavily behind them.

The older man finally released his grip on my shoulder. “I apologize for disturbing you, my Lord, but this young one was caught running around in the corridors and even caused a disturbance in the servants’ tasks.”

I tensed when Rido’s eyes focused on me. He studied me for a moment, his gaze heavy. I fidgeted under his stare and looked away after a few seconds, unable to hold eye contact with him. I instead chose to stare at my feet. 

I could still feel his eyes on me when he said, “Oh? Did she now?” He shifted his gaze from me to the older man. I only lifted my head again when I no longer felt the heavy pressure of his eyes on me anymore. 

Rido cocked his head to the side. “And what would you have me do about it, Ichiou?” he said to the older man.

Ichiou. So that was the older man’s name… Why did the name sound familiar? Where did I hear it before? I mentally filed away the newfound information to ponder and inquire about later. 

The man called Ichiou looked as if he had been waiting for Rido to say these words the whole time. “May I be so bold as to advise that you keep her under better check? So many people saw her today. I received multiple reports about her from various sources. We wouldn’t want her to disrupt the peace we have worked so hard to establish in this castle.”

I gritted my teeth. What huge disturbance? I only broke a few glasses and those servants stopped by for no more than a few minutes. It wasn’t as bad as he was making it out to be!

I looked over to Rido to see what he thought about the suggestion. To my surprise, he was watching me again. Without taking his eyes off me, he opened his mouth to speak to Ichiou. 

“You had her guarded in a room for days. She was watched every minute of every hour by the people you stationed. Tell me, how did she manage to leave her room without anyone realizing?” He started to now rise up from his position in the water. “Are the servants blind? Did none of them report her disappearance to you?” 

I involuntarily frowned at the implication of his words. I knew that I was being kept under watch the whole time by the two girls and who knows who else, but wasn’t Rido the one who ordered them to do it? When did this other man who popped out of nowhere suddenly become the one who was monitoring me? Just who was he?

The water sloshed and rippled around Rido’s body as he navigated his way toward us. I took a step back, instinctively feeling the need to keep my distance. 

Unfortunately, before I could move further back, Ichiou grasped my shoulder again, keeping me in place and restraining my movements. I mentally glared at him.

“I apologize then, my lord. It was a mistake on my part for stationing such worthless servants to complete a simple task. I’ll deal with them immediately.”

Deal with them? What did that mean?

I had a bad premonition about it but before I could think further, there was the sound of water splashing against stone and then Rido hoisted himself up from the pool of water.

As he stepped on the stone ground before me, drops of water gathered from his damp clothes and splashing onto the ground. His dark, wet hair was plastered against his pale skin, the contrast of the two giving him an eerie, but surprisingly alluring glow. He shook his head a little and dots of water splattered on the ground, some of them hitting me. I shivered.

He now stood before me. 

Realizing how close our proximity was to each other, my mouth slightly gaped open, eyes widening, and I could feel whatever blood that was left in my face draining away. My hands clenched into fists, the nails almost piercing into my skin. A little bit tighter and blood would be drawn. Which I didn’t need happening at all. 

In the timespan of two breaths, I exhaled through my nose and loosened my fists before finally looking up into Rido’s eyes. 

But he looked at me for no more than a few seconds before turning to Ichiou. “Make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future. There won’t be a next time, am I correct?” 

Ichiou nodded smoothly but for a second, I swore I saw a trace of animosity in his eyes. “I understand, lord Kuran. I just came by to make sure this solution was alright with you. I’ll have the girl locked up in a more secluded room in one of the deepest parts of the castle. Only top notch people will be permanently assigned to watch her. She won’t be causing any trouble again.”

He spoke the last sentence in a low tone and I got the sense that he was directing the words at me. 

His last words echoing in my ears, my calm and blank facade finally cracked. For so long, I had tried to stay quiet so as not to make any mistakes, but this time, I couldn’t stop the rush words that escaped my mouth.

“You can’t do this! How long are you going to keep me locked up here?” 

With those out of my system, I felt a sense of relief at finally being able to say the words that had been plaguing my mind since the very first day that I got here. 

Instantly, the two men’s gazes snapped to me. The rush of courage I felt a moment before was gone along with my words. I shrunk in place. 

Ichiou clucked his tongue. “Looks like you can speak after all. And quite a little bit of bite in you, too. To think that I was beginning to suspect that you were a mute.” 

He suddenly released his grip on my shoulder and I stumbled backward, sailing past him. I hadn’t even realized that I had been subconsciously leaning back until he had let go. 

“Ahh—” I shrieked, flailing my arms to try to grab onto something, anything, to keep my balance. 

The force of my momentum carried me backward and I starting falling. The ground was getting closer and closer and my head was just about to hit the pavement. 

At the last second, I felt a sudden grip at the front of my shirt and then a force pulled me up. I didn’t think as I reached out and desperately grabbed the closest thing to me. I gripped it tightly and didn’t let go as I tried to find my footing again. 

Only when I was standing upright and safe did I finally look and realize that I was holding on to Rido’s arm. 

I quickly let go and barely stopped myself from screaming again. 

Rido still kept a loose grip on my shirt. He stared attentively at it, and when I glanced down, I realized that he was looking at the blood stains on my shirt. The stains from my messy mealtime in the cellar room. 

The room I wasn’t supposed to know about. 

Uh oh.

My heart thudded in my chest as a flurry of thoughts and possibilities rushed through my head. 

What would he do to me if he realized that I knew about the cellar room and had even gone into it? What would he do to the servant girl if he knew that she had helped me? 

I watched him anxiously as he finally lifted his head and looked at me with interest. I held my breath as he spoke his next words. 

“Hm. Your heart is beating quite boisterously in your chest. I can hear every beat of its rhythm,” he said. “It’s almost as if you’re excited.” Then his mouth tilted upward. “Or terrified.” 

Ba-dump. My heart skipped a beat, and judging from the curl of Rido’s lips, I could tell that he didn’t miss that little detail. 

I quickly scrambled for something to say, but my brain had turned into mush under the pressure, so it took me quite a few seconds before I thought of something. And even then, my throat had dried up and I had to swallow before I could reply. 

“I just fell and nearly hit my head, so…I—uh…” I was ashamed at how my voice cracked, but I kept going. “I… It will take a while to completely calm down.”

Rido’s expression didn’t change, and I didn’t blame him for not believing me. Even to my own ears, I didn’t sound very convincing. I just sounded as if I was making an excuse. 

I could only shut my mouth and wait for him to say something. 

Instead of saying anything at first, he lowered his head again and fingered the red stains on my shirt. I stiffened at the contact and was glad that the shirt was a thick winter one. 

Ichiou, who had been standing by quietly, chose to finally speak up. “Lord Kuran, is this girl being too imprudent? I can have her taken away immediately.” He reached his hand out as if ready to grab onto me again. 

Rido ignored him. He inhaled and sniffed at the blood scent on my shirt. I slightly leaned back nervously. 

“Lord Kuran,” Ichiou repeated. 

Rido held a hand up, silencing him without even turning to look at him. Ichoiu pursed his lips, clearly not happy. Rido flicked his gaze to me, and I forced myself to stay calm and keep my heart rate at a steady beat. 

“This blood,” he finally said. “It certainly wasn’t there the last time I saw you. And it’s of very high quality, too. Where did it come from?” 

High quality blood…? Where…? 

I inhaled the blood scent on my shirt and was shocked to find a whiff of a rare blood type. How could this be? I never touched anything in the restricted area. Any scent I would have gained from just being near them should have long faded by now. Especially since I never opened one of those bags. So why?

And then it hit me. That guy from before. It was him. The blood bag in his hand had exploded and blood spilled all over his hands when he had gripped it too hard. And then he had grabbed me and held me by the shirt when I tried to run away. His hands had spread blood all over it. 

I clenched my teeth. Curse that guy. I vowed that if I ever saw him again, I wouldn’t let him walk away just like that. He had caused too much trouble for me. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here right now facing the man in front of me as he interrogated me. 

Rido’s eyes bore into mine, probing; if he stared long and hard enough, he might just discover my secrets. 

I wanted to say, Why shouldn’t there be any blood? I was starved for days and no one sent me anything. Do you know how long I waited before I finally mustered up the courage to venture out of that room? No, I bet you don’t know a thing. Do you know anything at all?

Looking into his cold mismatched eyes—one a deep, dark red and the other an icy blue—for a moment, I was tempted to just let Ichiou take me away and lock me in the new room. But I thought about how there seemed to be a lot more to Ichiou than I first initially thought. He had influence here. At the castle. Maybe even more. And whatever he decided for me wasn’t going to end good for me. 

But then again, wasn’t it the same case with Rido?

He continued to wait for my answer. With that probing gaze of his, who could possibly think straight and come up with a good answer right away? My knees started to wobble. 

I spoke simply. “I was thirsty. A servant gave me blood, and I was messy about it.”

He tilted his head. “Oh? Who was it? Who gave you blood?” 

I bit my lip at this. The servant girl had been the one to give me blood. But I couldn’t give her away. She had been kind to me. The worst thing I could do was to sell her out. 

Although I wanted to, I couldn’t really say it was the other guy either because I didn’t know his name.

Seeing my hesitation, Rido urged me on. “Don’t be afraid. You can tell your uncle.”

I flinched at the last word. Don’t be afraid him? Did he think I was stupid? 

I finally said, “I don’t know their name. They were just a random servant.”

It was true enough. I was glad that I had never asked for the servant girl’s name before. It kept her safe for now. As for the other guy, it was too bad. I could have pretended like he was the one who showed me where the room was and got him in trouble for it. But it would be a lot of trouble if I tried that without even knowing his name or who he was. That plan was too complicated, and it might just backfire on me instead. 

But if Rido asked anymore questions, I wasn’t too confident that he wouldn’t be able to get something out of me. It was getting harder and harder to stand up right and look him straight in the eye while giving him answers. 

Rido exchanged a look with Ichiou, and my heart sank. 

They knew something was off. They were going to interrogate me further. I couldn’t keep this up for much longer. 

My legs were getting heavy. My breath hitched when Rido turned to me again. I couldn’t look him directly in the eye. I chose to stare at the place below his neck. 

Here it comes. 

He touched my chin and tilted it up. I had no choice but to meet his gaze. There was a spark of something in his eyes but I couldn’t decipher it. 

I held my breath and prepared myself for his next question. Maybe this one would be a question that I couldn’t evade. 

But to my surprise, he asked about something completely unrelated to the blood stains. 

“What’s your name?” he said. 

Huh?

I wasn’t expecting this. Not at all. My lips parted in surprise as I watched him silently. 

“Well?” he said, tilting my chin up further. 

He was doing that thing again. That thing where he looked deeply into my eyes as if by doing so, he hoped he could capture all my secrets. 

I thought back to his question. He wanted to know my name, huh? Was he joking? When he first captured me, he had called me nothing but “girl” or even “little girl” a couple of times. Now he wanted to know my name? Now he cared?

My name was not just simply a word or a label for me. It was my identity. It was something that no one but me and my loved ones knew. I didn’t want to give it to him. 

But at the same time… If I gave him a fake name now, what would happen to me? 

A flash of loneliness hit me at the thought. I would be alone in this castle where no one would ever know the real me. I would be living a lie, my days empty of any truth. I would have to hear people call me a fake name over and over again, my true one never touching their lips. 

Would I later forget my own name? Would I forget my own identity? 

No. Absolutely not. I clenched my fists and made a resolve. I wouldn’t ever let that happen. Never in this life. 

Fine. Rido could go ahead and learn my name. Let him tell it to the whole world. But he could never take it away from me. As long as I lived, he would never get the chance to do so. 

And that was a promise. 

I gazed back into Rido’s inquiring eyes and flashed him a smile. A smile for the first time in this castle. “My name is Y/N. Y/N Kuran.” 

I saw a hint of surprise in his eyes. Maybe at my sudden smile. Or maybe that I actually answered him truthfully. 

Rido hummed. “Y/N Kuran… You intrigue me.”

It was my turn to be surprised again. I wasn’t sure if what I had done was the right thing. But I quickly hid my doubts and surprise and chose to stay silent again. Staying silent was the best thing to do when you didn’t know what to do. 

Rido finally released me and his mouth turned upward in a smile. I couldn’t tell what the meaning behind it was. 

“Ichiou,” he said. “Have her taken back.”

“To the new room in the secluded wing? I’ll get it done immediately.” He looked like he had expected this outcome the whole time. He reached over to grab me. 

My shoulders sagged at this and I lowered my head. Looks like I would have to live a quiet, lonely, uneventful life in a locked room after all. I expected nothing less but it was still disappointing to have it confirmed and set in stone. 

“No.”

No? My head shot up in surprise and I looked at Rido with wide eyes. 

“My lord?” Ichiou looked surprised, too. And not the least bit pleased. Irritated, in fact.

Rido glanced at me before answering. “For now, have her taken back to the room she was already in before. And this time with more servants stationed outside to watch over her. After that, I have to discuss a matter with you.”

Ichiou bowed his head. “As you wish, my lord.” 

Ichiou’s grip on me was tight and not the least bit courteous as he dragged me out and handed me to his lackeys waiting outside the doors. But I paid no attention to this. A thought kept bussing through my head. 

Rido has decided what he wants to do about me. And he’s about to discuss it with Ichiou.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think about the chapter? Like it? Hate it? Boring?
> 
> What do you think Rido has planned for you? What do you hope he does?
> 
>  
> 
> Please, guys, comment and bookmark this story if you like it. It took me hours to type this all up.


	12. Two Dresses

I waited restlessly in my room for around two hours before the door finally burst open. A group of maids came pouring in. 

 

I immediately jumped off the bed and watched them anxiously. “What’s going on? What has Rido ordered you to do?”

 

A couple of them gave me a weird look when I referred to Rido by his name, but other than that, I received no response from them. They wordlessly came forward and grabbed ahold of me. They started dragging me out of the room. 

 

“Hey, hey, hey! Stop! Let go of me!” I struggled to get free, but the two maids on either side of me firmly held onto me. They only held tighter and walked faster the more I struggled. 

 

We veered past a couple of hallways and finally ended up in a front of a set of doors. The leading maid thrust the door open and clambered in, her entourage dragging me in with them. 

 

We went past the entrance and when I saw the inside of the room, I momentarily stopped struggling to stare. The room was nothing special in itself, its walls plain and bare of all furnishings, but what stood out was the mid-sized pool in the center. It was round and filled with water to the brim.

 

But the pool wasn’t the kind meant for swimming as it was too shallow for that. It wasn’t like Rido’s one either since his seemed to be more about the hot steam. The water in this pool was clear and had no ripples so I could tell that it was only as deep as my height with an added half meter or so. There were a couple of pipes at the end, pumping and exchanging the water. 

 

I was so focused on looking at the pool that I didn’t notice when the two maids on my sides had finally let go of me or that one of the leading maids had moved to stand in front of me. 

 

“Miss, I will now proceed to remove your clothes.”

 

_ Remove my clothes—? _

 

She grabbed my top and started to lift it. 

 

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” I shrieked. 

 

I grabbed on to the end of my shirt and tugged it down, pushing against her movements to lift it. My arms shook against the force of her continued attempts. She was physically stronger, but I refused to yield the least bit, so we were caught in a deadlock, neither of us being able to pull the shirt in the direction we wanted. I didn’t give up even as the struggle stretched on longer; I ended up eventually starting to inch it downward. 

 

Unfortunately, a second later, one of the other maids at the side stepped forward and moved to unfurl my fingers from the edge of my shirt. I gripped as hard as I could but she still managed to work her way through my fingers, forcing me to let go. 

 

Before the leading maid could take the opportunity to yank my shirt off, I clamped my arms firmly to my sides, pressing my elbows in for more sturdiness. My body stiffened as straight as a board. She could tug at my shirt all she wanted but if she couldn’t get my arms out of my sleeves, she would get it no further up than my chest. 

 

One of the other maids off to the side released a sigh. “Miss, please don’t make this hard for us. The Master had given us specific orders to undress you and prepare you.”

 

I probably should have been wondering what she was meant about preparing me but at the moment, all I could think about was how they was trying to strip me of my clothes. 

 

I gritted my teeth and continued to hold.  _ Who cared what ‘the Master’ wanted?  _ Whether it was Rido or Ichiou, they could both jump in a ditch for all I cared. 

 

I took my privacy seriously. Letting someone else see me naked made me really uncomfortable. Even if it was just to bathe me. 

 

The last time my mother ever undressed me or gave me a bath was when I was four. After that, I learned to do everything myself so that I wouldn’t have to be dependent on her for everything. Really, the situation forced me to become self-reliant or else how would I survive alone in the mansion every time she had to leave with Father and Kaname to go to the vampire gatherings?

 

At age four, I started to learn to do everything myself. Getting ready in the morning, making my bed, heating the blood bags, taking a shower on my own, washing my clothes. I even had to take care of baby Yuki all by myself on some days when my parents and Kaname were home.

 

Later, I realized that Mother was actually preparing me to care for myself and Yuki in the future for the days when they wouldn’t be there at home with us. 

 

Honestly, for someone as young as I was back then, it was a lot to ask for. It was alright for me to take care of myself, but how many four-year-olds could also be trusted to bathe and change their baby sibling?

 

Mother and Father sure did trust me. And they were right to do so. 

 

Because by the time I turned five, I was already pretty mature for my age, not like a real five-year-old at all. It was as if one day I had suddenly grown up and started to mentally age as the days went by. 

 

Even now, I was only nine-years-old but some might say I had the mentality of someone far older. 

 

But looking at the maids in front of me who were watching me make things difficult for them, maybe it was my understanding of situations and not so much as my attitude that made me seem older. 

 

No matter what, I was still nine-years-old and sometimes I acted like one. 

 

Like now.

 

The maid in front of me tried to talk to me. “Miss, we have orders, and we can’t defy them.”

 

_ Orders shmorthers!  _

 

“Miss, we aren’t leaving until you’ve been bathed and dressed.”

 

_ Go ahead and wait all you want. We can do this all day. _

 

One of the other maids hissed under her breath. “Please stop being unreasonable, miss. We just need to help you bathe and get you ready.”

 

_ I have hands. Who says I need your help with anything? _

 

The leading maid in front of me threw a strict look at that maid before turning back to me again. This time, she tried to be more gentle when trying to coax me. 

 

“Miss, we are on a tight schedule. We have to get you ready in less than half an hour.”

 

I didn’t respond. I stayed like how I was. 

 

“Miss, the Master will punish all of us if we don’t get you ready on time.”

 

She was now pleading with me and I saw that her eyes actually had genuine fear in them when she mentioned about punishment. 

 

At this, I finally complied. 

 

My shoulders sagged and I loosened up my posture, no longer trying to hold down my top. 

 

The women and girls around me looked surprised that I finally stopped struggling. They looked relieved, too. 

 

I didn’t know any of these females. They were complete strangers to me. Anything that would happen to them really shouldn’t have anything to do with me. 

 

Except it would. 

 

I didn’t like the idea of anyone being hurt or punished because of me. I didn’t like that idea at all. 

 

How could I continue to move forward while knowing that I caused someone pain for refusing to do the simplest of things?

 

When the leading maid moved to remove my top again, I once again stopped her. 

 

“Wait,” I said. 

 

She hesitated, her face filled with apprehension. 

 

“Let me do it,” I said. “I can undress myself.”

 

The other maids exchanged glances at this, but the leading one nodded at this.

 

“As you wish, miss.”

 

Inwardly, I raised a brow at this, only now wondering why she and her bunch didn’t call me ‘my lady’ like the other two servant girls that dusted my room and instead chose to call me ‘miss’. But I didn’t care too much for titles anyway so I brushed it aside.

 

I motioned for them to all give me some privacy. The leading maid in front of me was the first to turn around; the other maids all followed suit, some of them looking uncertain.

 

I didn’t spare a minute. I stripped off my top, bottoms, vest, socks, and underwear. I neatly folded each article of clothing and placed them on the ground. 

 

I was now completely bare as I stood in front of the round pool. I shivered at the cold room temperature. I glanced behind me to make sure they still had their backs toward me before stepping closer to the pool. 

 

Hoping that the water would be warm, I dipped my foot in to test the water. My toes created a ripple in the water that spread a long way across before straightening out again.

 

The water was freezing cold. 

 

I gasped at its icy touch and withdrew my foot from its arctic grip.

 

“Miss, have you finished undressing?” the leading maid called out. 

 

I responded and said, “Don’t turn around until I’m in the water.”

 

“...I understand, miss.”

 

From her delayed response, I could tell she wasn’t happy. I remembered that she said that I had to be ready in less than half an hour. If I didn’t get in the pool soon, we would probably be late. 

 

Who knew all the things they were instructed to do in order to prepare me? Who knew how long each task would take?

 

I looked at the calm, icy water and told myself that it would be less cold once I was already in. I couldn’t afford to waste any more time just standing there. 

 

I took a deep breath and bracing myself, I jumped in the pool. 

 

The icy water hit me with a tight slap. I gasped at its freezing touch and accidentally swallowed some water, choking on it. I sank to the bottom.

 

My feet touched the bottom of the pool. The surface of the water was only a few heads taller than me. Still choking on the water, I pressed my weight on one foot and pushed myself up to the surface. 

 

When my head was above the water again, I gasped in air and started coughing. It took a couple of minutes before I was calm and fine again. The water was finally starting to get warm as my body started getting used to it.

 

By now, all the maids had turned back around, probably once they had heard the splash when I jumped in. They started coming into the water, too. 

 

“I can bathe myself,” I said. “Your help isn’t needed.”

 

The maids still proceeded to come forward. One of them shook their head. “We have very little time left, miss. There is a lot to get done and we’ll need to assist you in order to finish faster. Please allow us to lend you a hand, miss. 

 

I was about to protest when I noticed that some of them were bringing bottles of different oils and mixtures with them into the water. I usually never needed that many when I was bathing.

 

But this time it wouldn’t be a simple bath like the one I usually took back at home. 

 

One of the maids uncorked the bottle in her hand and poured some of the liquid into her hand. She mixed it until it became foamy before applying it to my hair. The other maids also uncorked their bottles and started applying the oils to my body. One of them worked at scrubbing my back while another two worked on my arms and legs. 

 

At this point, there wasn’t any room to be shy or modest. I guess it was better to just let them do their job so that this could be done with faster. 

 

I relaxed and allowed them to bathe me. 

 

With their combined efforts, the whole process lasted no more than ten minutes, yet when I came out and was all neat and dried with a towel, I never felt so clean and refreshed in my life. 

 

I was given a bathrobe and instructed to follow one of the maids to another nearby room. There, she opened a wardrobe, revealing dresses that were all in my size. All of them were unique and in different styles. 

 

I frowned and looked at the maid. “What exactly are these for?”

 

I waited for a few seconds for her to speak. She didn’t look like she was going to reply at all. But in the end, she finally opened her mouth only to say, “I have not been instructed to inform you.”

 

Her words told me that she did know what the occasion was. 

 

“Please,” I begged. “I won’t tell anyone that you told me.”

 

I tried to make my eyes look especially more pleading and innocent. “Please,” I said. 

 

She didn’t even hesitate before saying in a monotone voice, “I can’t tell you. Please choose quickly. Time is of the essence.”

 

I felt a rush of anger at her words and her attitude. 

 

It wasn’t that simple choosing a dress. I remembered how meticulously Mother would choose hers before going anywhere outside. She always told me that what you wore gave off a certain impression to other people. If you wore the wrong thing at the wrong time and place, there would be consequences you might never have realized were a result of your wrong dressing. 

 

I didn’t know what kind of consequences there were to wearing the wrong thing, but the fact that Mother took it so seriously and even informed me about it was an indicator enough that I should also take what I chose seriously.

 

But I had no idea what to choose at all. All the dresses were very different in both style and color. I couldn’t get away with choosing any random one because each one of them had a different volume than the one next to it. 

 

I had always stayed inside the mansion and had no experience with choosing the right clothes to give off the right impression. I didn’t even know what kind of dress matched what occasion; not that knowing how would help since the stone-faced maid in front of me refused to even tell me what the occasion was anyway. 

 

_ What if I chose the wrong dress? What if I made a big mistake? _

 

I looked at the girl in front of me again and felt unhappy at her. 

 

_ What was the harm in telling me? Why couldn’t I know?  _ If she was worried that I would tell someone, she was worrying for nothing because I was the person who was least likely to do something like that. 

 

I also realized that she didn’t even call me ‘miss’. I didn’t really care for titles but it at least showed that other vampires respected me. This girl hadn’t addressed me as ‘miss’ even once since we were alone.

 

I narrowed my eyes at this and quickly observed her. Short stature, a few years older than my age, straight hair in a braid, fancier maid clothing. 

 

I recognized her. She was the one from before who rudely called me unreasonable when I refused to let the maids undress me. 

 

My eyes must have shown some animosity in them because I saw her look a little surprised.

 

“This is for the good of both of us,” she said. “I don’t make the rules.”

 

I guess she was right in that. It wasn’t her fault since it’s not like she was the one who wanted to keep it a secret. She was just doing what she was told. 

 

But I didn’t like her all the same. 

 

I calmed down. 

 

“I understand,” I said.

 

She nodded. “Thank you for your understanding.”

 

I didn’t say anything back to her. 

 

Now that I stopped pestering her for answers, she motioned toward the dresses. “Choose one. And hurry.”

 

I eyed them all and then looked up at her. But instead of saying my choice, I asked her another question.

 

“Which one do you think I should choose?” 

 

The maid looked surprised. “Me? You want me to choose?”

 

“No, I merely want a suggestion. My fashion tastes are not the best, so I need help in choosing something. So which one? Which should I wear?”

 

The maid frowned. “I can’t choose for you. I’m only supposed to assist you in dressing.”

 

“Again, I only asked for you to suggest one, not choose for me.”

 

“I can’t—”

 

I interrupted her. “Did your Master also say you can’t help me decide what to wear? I’m afraid that if it’s up to me, we’ll be here for a real, long time.”

 

I saw a spark of irritation in her eyes. She reached in and pulled out a dress. “Here. I suggest this one.”

 

I didn’t even look at the dress. “You didn’t look carefully at any of them. Did you just chose one randomly?”

 

A flash of surprise passed through her eyes. 

 

Huh, maybe she wasn’t expecting that I would pick up on that. 

 

I looked her in the eye as I spoke every word. “Every occasion requires a certain dress. As I’m in the blind as to what the occasion is, you’ll be giving me help here in making a suggestion for me.”

 

I gave her time in deciphering the meaning in my words before adding another sentence. 

 

“In the future, I’ll remember how you helped me today and repay you back.”

 

When she fully absorbed the meaning in my words, I saw her expression change to one of anxiousness. 

 

I smiled when I saw that she understood. 

 

There. I had indirectly told her to find me the right dress to wear. And if she chose the wrong one and I ended up making a fool of myself in whatever Rido was planning for me, I’d blame her 

for it and somehow make things difficult for her in the future. (A/N: ok I just made her a little manipulative there. You guys don’t mind, do you?)

I motioned toward the dresses. “Hurry and  _ suggest _ one. Time is of the essence, you know,” I said, throwing her earlier words right back at her. 

She pursed her lips in anger but I only continued smiling. 

She turned to the dresses and took a few minutes to study all of them. I stood by silently and watched her as she studied them. 

Finally, she pulled out two dresses; a red one and a white one. 

“Either of these will do,” she said, holding them up to me. 

I looked at both of them. The two of them each gave off a separate aura. 

The red one was a velvety color that stopped at your knees. It had a heart-shaped neckline and there were no sleeves below the shoulders. 

The white one was ankle length, full sleeved, and covered in laces. There was a large bow at the waist and its color covered the entire neck. 

I flicked my eyes to her. “What aura do you feel that you are getting when you look at each of them?”

She didn’t say anything and only looked back at me. I kept my eyes on her and didn’t look away.

When the silence stretched for too many seconds, she finally broke it. 

She lifted the red one higher. “This one speaks confidence, ambition, cunningness, and passion.”

Then she lifted the white one. “This one is innocence, pleasantness, amiability, and cleverness.” 

I tilted my head to the side. “And what feeling do you get when you look at me?”

She sputtered and her eyes flashed. “What is this?”

“I just want a suggestion,” I said. “The sooner you help, the sooner we get done.”

She looked at me with hostility before saying, “Machiavellian.” 

I repeated that word. “Machiavellian.”

She might have thought that at my young age, I didn’t know what the word meant. But I did know. She would be surprised at how many books I read. 

“So is it this one?” she said, holding up the red one. 

I looked at her and smiled again. “You’re wrong. I’m just a simple, naive girl. That one is all wrong for me.”

I reached for the white dress. “Now  _ this _ . This one speaks volume about me. Am I right?”

She gritted her teeth and put the red dress back in the wardrobe before proceeding to help me dress. 

While she worked, I eyed the red dress in the wardrobe and thought it was a shame that I could never wear it. It truly was a beautiful dress and would compliment me perfectly. (A/N: Does anyone think the white dress is actually more fitting to them?)

But I could never give off the impression it was meant to give. Because if anyone in this castle ever thought I was any of those things, my life here would be anything but peaceful. People like Ichiou would want to get rid of me. 

* * *

I waited alone in a small room, all dressed and ready. I sat on a comfortable chair that faced the doorway. 

The door suddenly opened, and I looked up to see who it was. 

Rido.

He had finally arrived. 

He stepped into the room and his eyes met mine. I held his gaze.

His eyes shifted to look at me from head to toe. 

He saw my meticulous hairstyle first. A couple of the maids had worked together to style it to match my dress. They had even added a couple of flashy hair accessories to it. Together, the hairstyle and accessories fit the gentle look perfectly and made my eyes look bigger and innocent. 

Then came the face makeup. It was nothing more than some pink rogue on my cheeks to give them a sweet, healthy complexion from my usual dull shade that came from the lack of time I spent outside. There was also a little bit of lip gloss dabbed on my lips to give them some color. 

Finally, his eyes landed on my dress. His mouth curved upward. 

I finally chose to speak. “Is there something wrong? Is my dress not presentable?”

I don’t know why I felt so bold at the moment. Maybe the makeup made me feel like a different person? Or maybe it was the girl from before describing me as Machiavellian? I did have to admit that my mini victory over her had given me some more confidence. 

Rido laughed and his eyes flashed a hint of canny. “I never predict that of all the dresses available, you would choose to wear that one.” He took a seat in the chair opposite of me.

His mirth made me a little uneasy and I shifted in my seat. “There weren’t that many to choose from. This one was the prettiest so I chose this one.”

He moved his lips, and I think I heard him mutter,  _ Pretty indeed _ .

Aloud, he said, “Your arrival was...unexpected. The servants gathered and brought forth what they could find that was in your size.”

I mentally snorted at this. 

“Well, I’m here now,” I said. 

_ Now tell me what you have planned for me.  _

As if reading my mind, he finally stood up and held his hand out to me. 

I looked at his hand. Then at him. 

“Come now,” he said. “Take my hand, and I will lead you to where you are needed to be.”

I pushed down the queasy feeling that was bubbling in my stomach and took his hand.

“Lead the way,” I said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys ok with Y/N being a little clever with her words and manipulative there? Or do you prefer her to be a little nicer to the maids and less spoiled?


	13. Hidden Claws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plans are revealed...mostly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to make this chapter longer, but then I had SAT practice and tutoring sessions shoved onto me and the upcoming midterms. Instead of making you guys wait another couple of weeks, I decided to cut what I originally had planned into two parts. This is the first part.

I followed alongside Rido as he led me out of the room.

 

He ended up taking me to the entrance of the grand hall from before when I was posing as a servant and where all the servants were setting up the tables with wine glasses. 

 

But as I peeked from my place outside the entrance and into the giant room, I realized that the room was no longer filled with just servants. 

 

I gasped and whipped my head back to look at Rido incredulously. 

 

He looked down at me, watching my reaction. I had a slight feeling he was amused. Or mocking me. 

 

The cold countenance I had been wearing on my face began to waver. “What do you mean by this? Who are they?”

 

_ Why are they all gathered over here? _

 

Rido tilted his head to the side. “They are the other residents of this castle, of course. And I called them here. For the gathering I’m hosting.”

 

“But , why?”  _ What for? _

 

He smiled. “You’re about to find out along with them.”

 

I felt a chill at his words. I tried to keep my face frozen of all expressions. I didn’t want him to know how much this rankled me. 

 

_ No no no. Please don’t tell me I’m going to have to go in there.  _

 

With _ them. _

 

Rido took in my hesitation and commented, “You don’t look too well, little one. Your skin is starting to turn a little pale.”

 

Indeed, as I touched my finger to my face, I found that it was feeling cold as all the blood had drained from it. I looked at the door and then back at Rido. Unwilling. 

 

He smiled at me, but it wasn’t exactly the kind, sunny one that was supposed to make me feel better. “Could it be that...you’re afraid?”

 

As he watched my face to gauge my reaction, I clenched the fist he wasn’t holding and willed my pounding heart to steady its pace. 

 

_ Afraid? _

 

Yes. I was very afraid.

 

I never wanted to be here. I never wanted any of this. 

 

But here I was anyway.

 

And so I would have to make do with it.

 

Until I could turn the situation around.

 

When I felt the color coming back to my face, I attempted a smile, though it came out half-hearted, and said, “What is there to be afraid of?” 

 

I slowly unclenched my fist and used it to fix my dress. Then I took the first step toward the entrance, my hand pulling Rido forward. 

 

When he was standing next to me again, I said, “Let’s not make them wait too long. A gathering like this shouldn’t be without its host.”

 

Maybe it was my words. Or maybe it was the serious expression on my face. He laughed. He almost looked happy when he patted my head.

 

“Right you are, my dear girl. It’s time we go in.”

 

I frowned at the endearing way he addressed me, completely bemused. He spoke to me af if we were two people that were very close to each other. As if he hadn’t done what he had to me. Coming out of his mouth, the words felt...wrong. I tried to shake off the heavy feeling I felt in my heart. 

 

Although the entrance was only a couple of feet away, we walked slowly as if we were just taking a quiet stroll alone. 

 

The nearer we got, the more nervous I felt. The thought of the people inside made my stomach clench. I wanted very much to turn around and hide in a hole for the rest of my life. 

 

But Rido was pulling me by my hand, keeping me by his side. I found that it was already too late and I couldn’t turn back. 

 

We finally entered the grand room. 

 

As he steadily guided me forward, the people closest to us caught sight of us and hushed down their conversations. They stopped what they were doing and laid their eyes on us. Slowly, more and more of the room was turning silent. Heads turned. People stared. 

 

All attention was on us. 

 

I kept my head bowed and stared a few feet ahead of where I was walking. I didn’t want to make eye contact with these people. 

 

_ Them _ . 

 

The people in fancy, expensive clothing; their beauty was quite a sight in this big room, especially next to all the plainer servants. Their expressions were proud, their aura heavy. I accidentally made eye contact with a couple of them. When they saw I was looking at them, they smiled in a friendly manner at me.

 

It struck me at how odd their expressions were. Although their face had a pleasant countenance plastered on it, the cold, calculative look in their gazes made them anything but friendly. All things combined, an almost feral look appeared to be on their faces.

 

A barely vivid memory surfaced in my mind, one from so long ago.

 

* * *

 

_ “Brother, you’re always going to those gatherings with the other vampires. I can only imagine how horrible they are to you over there.” _

 

_ “No, not quite. They aren’t mean to me like you would think. They show me the greatest of respect, always smiling at me.” _

 

_ Confusion. “What do you mean? Mother and Father said they are greedy and power-hungry. Why would they treat you nicely?” _

 

_ A chuckle. “Beasts don’t expose their claws too early in the game. They smile, and then they wait. And when the right moment comes, they finally reveal themselves and strike.” _

 

_ “...I don’t get it.” _

 

_ “That’s alright. You don’t really need to know.” _

 

_ “But I want to know. Please tell me!” _

 

_ A sigh. “Not right now. I’ll explain it to you some other time.” _

 

* * *

 

It was from so long ago that I had forgotten all about it. Kaname never did explain it to me.

 

But he no longer had to. I was witnessing his meaning personally. 

 

_ Beasts with hidden claws.  _ That’s what I saw before me. It was all I could do to keep going forward without revealing any of my emotions on my face. 

 

After what seemed like forever, Rido and I had finally reached the stage. Ichiou was waiting for us there. 

 

As I looked up at his steely eyes, I was finally struck by something. 

 

These people were beasts. Kaname had described those vampires at the gathering as beasts. Could it be…?

 

The stage wasn’t high; I only needed to lift my leg a little to step on it. Unfortunately, my dress restricted my movements.

 

Before I knew it, Rido’s were at my waist and he was lifting me up onto the stage. He stepped up after me. The throne on the stage sat there imposingly but Rido didn’t take a seat. 

 

Instead, he turned around and faced the crowd of vampires. They had started chittering amongst themselves again the moment we reached the stage. Probably about me.

 

The more I watched them, the surer I became of myself. 

 

Arrogant, proud expressions. Heavy, suppressing auras. Cold, dark eyes.

 

These people were the very ones my family had been trying to protect me from.

 

The Aristocrats. More specifically, the Senate. 

 

I started feeling nauseous, and I could no longer stand to look at them. I looked down. 

 

The room was going quiet again. From the corner of my eye, I saw Rido shift beside me. He took a single step forward. I stayed behind him. 

 

By now, the room had gone completely silent. The crowd’s eyed drilled into us. 

 

I thought Rido was going to open his mouth and start speaking, but to my surprise, though, he didn’t speak. Ichiou did. 

 

“Loyal followers, you were urgently called forth within this day. It was sudden, and many of you were forced to drop some private affairs to attend this gathering.”

 

They didn’t respond to that. I peeked and saw that a few of them wore an irritable look that they couldn’t conceal. 

 

“You may be wondering what could be so imperative as to interrupt you from your busy schedules.”

 

A few in the crowd nodded, many directed their gazes to me, and some didn’t react at all. I quickly flicked my gaze away and looked at Ichiou. 

 

He wasn’t on the stage and his back was to me, so I couldn’t see his face. But I got the sense that he was smiling. 

 

I tensed. This was the moment I would find out their plans for me. 

 

“The urgent matter that required your immediate attendance…”

 

He didn’t finish before Rido pulled me by the hand toward him until I was standing right in front, my back to him. I faced the crowd of nobles. 

 

Rido clamped his hands down onto my shoulders. “You are here today because I have decided to get a protégé.”

 

_ Protégé.  _ I’d heard that word before.  _ Someone who was under the protection of and supported by a more influential person. _

 

My eyes widened and my mouth parted in stunned silence.

 

_ He wanted to take me in as his protégé? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next part is the one with all the excitement going on. Hope you'll be anticipating it.


	14. Kneel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of 3 in the grand room (yes, I know I said it would be 2 parts in total, but I was dawdling instead of studying for midterms when I was writing this so this is all I could manage to get done.)

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I was beyond shocked, my mouth gaping open by now. But I wasn’t the only one.

The nobles in front of me started buzzing with conversation. I was too far away to hear, but I didn’t need to be next to them to know what they were talking about.

“Is it really true, Lord Kuran?” one person shouted, their eyes on me. “You’re taking in a protégé?”

Rido’s hold on my shoulders tightened. “Yes. I said so myself, didn’t I?”

I had the feeling that the person wasn’t really asking about Rido getting a protégé; rather, he was asking if it was me. And Rido had more or less just confirmed it.

I stood still, my head bowed. I felt all of them’s eyes on me, assessing me. I wondered what they saw when their eyes laid upon me.

Did they see a sweet little girl?

Or did see something darker, more dangerous?

Whatever it was, I was glad that I chose to wear something so simple and innocent. My attire and my bowed head made me less conspicuous, which worked better in my favor.

One brave soul finally asked the question that had been on all of their minds: “Who is she?”

The room started to quiet a little in anticipation of the answer.

Before Rido could answer, Ichiou took control again. “It does not matter who she was before. The past is the past, and it will forever stay a length behind; what matters most is the present and future. From now on, this young lady will be known only as the Lady Kuran.”

Lady Kuran.

“...Lady Kuran…” The crowd whispered.

_Lady Kuran._

I opened my mouth and closed it. My throat went dry.  _No._

“Lady Kuran…” They murmured. “...Lady Kuran…”

_No! I have an actual name! You can’t take it from me!_

I had no idea what being ‘Lady Kuran’ meant—it obviously meant something or else it wouldn’t have garnered such a reaction from all of them—but I didn’t like the direction this was going at all.

I caught Ichiou’s eyes when he turned to look at me. His eyes flashed and he smiled sinisterly at me. This only served to further my suspicions that this wasn’t something good at all. He turned back to the rest of the nobles.

“From today forward, there is a new Lady of the castle!” he said in a grand voice.

And then before I could even blink, he closed his hand into a fist and held it in the air. “Hail the Lord and Lady Kuran!”

My jaw went slack at this as I watched him in shock.  _What is he doing?_

But I suddenly realized when one by one, the servants and nobles—albeit some slower and unwilling than others—mirrored him and pumped their fists into the air. They started chanting with him.

“Hail the Lord and Lady Kuran! Hail the Lord and Lady Kuran! Hail the Lord and Lady Kuran!”

_My name is Y/N! Y/N!_ I wanted to scream.  _I’m not your Lady!_

I tried to get the words past my lips, but I couldn’t manage to spit them out. It would have been of no use. They wouldn’t be able to hear me.

I watched in horror as more and more joined and chanted the name over and over again. Their voices became louder and louder, closing in on me. I felt as if I was being pressured on all sides. A lump formed in my throat and I felt my airway start to tighten. For a moment, the pressure became too much, and I almost forgot how to breathe.

And then Rido let go of one of my shoulders to raise his own hand in the air. I tilted my head back and saw that he didn’t form a fist or pump it in the air like all the others. He kept it there and left it flat. That was his cue for silence.

The people in the grand room finally started to cease their chanting and movements. They calmed down and looked at him expectantly. My lungs started working properly again as soon as they stopped, and I took deep breaths, not caring at all if I looked anything but calm. Their attention was fully focused on Rido, anyway.

His voice was even. “Do you all accept this girl as the new Lady of this castle?”

I watched as they all chorused, “We accept.”

Most of the nobles kept a neutral face, with maybe only curiosity or uncertainty showing more than anything else. But some of them showed unhappiness in their eyes. I felt the danger in this. Who knew how many more were unhappy but just hid it better? Most likely, they really had no choice but to accept me, whatever that meant.

Rido smiled in satisfaction at their response. Then he moved from his place to stand beside me. He turned my body so that I faced toward him. We now both stood facing each other on the stage. The crowd watched us from the side.

Rido spoke one word to me. “Kneel.”

_Kneel?_

I hesitated, looking at him in uncertainty. He wanted me to kneel? Here?

I couldn’t help but think of some of the stories I read in my books: the knights kneeling in front of their king. Was it like that?

My hesitation was too long. Rido didn’t repeat himself. But when I didn’t do as he said right away, the air around him started to feel a little different, more colder. I felt a chill go down my spine.

_It’s just kneeling,_  I told myself.  _It won’t kill you._

Involuntarily, I lifted up the edge of my dress, and with some difficulty, I made myself get down on a knee before him, trying not to wrinkle the dress in the process. The stage ground was hard beneath my knee as I placed it there with a  _thump_.

I ignored how some of the ladies in the crowd smirked at my graceless movements. It wasn’t my fault. These kinds of dresses—whether it was the one I was wearing right now or the red one from before—they restricted one’s movements. And I wasn’t used to wearing something like this, let alone kneeling in it. That didn’t stop some of them from giggling though.

Rido was already quite tall before, and he towered over me, but now, he was a titan. His whole shadow covered me. I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes.

To try to save myself some grace, I casted all emotions from my face. My face was blank once more, revealing nothing.

Rido gazed down at me, and I saw that his eyes took on a strange glint to them—Nervousness? Anticipation? Excitement?

But before I could delve deeper into his emotion, he began.

“The people have accepted you as their Lady. I am now about to accept you as my protégé. But,” he stated and his eyes twinkled at this with a hidden emotion, “do you accept me as your guardian?”

My blank facade wavered.  _Oh, gosh._  This whole protégé thing was something serious—not something fancy, for show, or in name only. He was truly serious.

But this came out of nowhere. I needed time to think. To think about all my options. To think about what this meant. To think about what I should do.

My hands started to shake and sweat started forming in my palms. I clenched my fingers, then unclenched them. I closed my fist around the fabric of my dress and pulled it down as a cover.

Time seemed to tick by too quickly. I was taking too long to respond again. And everyone seemed to have noticed.

They weren’t loud. Only a few of the nobles were whispering. And they were even being a little subtle about it. But they dared to do it at all.

Rido smiled and released a light chuckle. “Ah, I believe I’m the one at fault for throwing this decision upon you so suddenly without a warning. Apologies, my dear girl. I should have let you know beforehand to give you time to think about it.”

Although his chuckle was meant to ease the mood, it wasn’t to make me feel better. The chuckle and his words were indirectly aimed for the nobles who were whispering about my hesitance. He didn’t like my hesitance, nor he did he like them commenting about it. I understood this. They understood this.

They immediately stopped whispering.

The people below laughed in order to dispel the awkward mood. The ones who were brave enough to open their mouths to whisper before laughed more exaggeratedly than others. I let out a nervous giggle, too.

Rido continued to smile, but his eyes now took on a completely different tone than the one I was trying to decipher before. A lot less friendly.

“Ponder over it carefully, my dear girl,” he said gently. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear your thoughts, so here are some things to ponder over:
> 
> What do you think it means to be the Lady of the castle?
> 
> Why does Ichiou seem to have it out for you?
> 
> Why would some of the nobles be unhappy with you being Rido's protégé?
> 
> And most importantly, how would you like to respond to Rido?


	15. Red and Black Ink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion to the grand room arc...

_Ponder over it carefully?_  He made it sound as if I even had a choice when it was obvious I didn’t.

I fought to suppress the grimace that was working its way on my face and tried to think through all my options, every possible action I could take.

If I responded and accepted his proposition, what would happen?

_Who knew? Anything could happen. I could become stronger... but also put myself in danger._

Then if I didn’t accept?

_He’d be… unhappy. It won’t be good if he was unhappy. Not yet._

Assessing the little possibilities, it was probably best if I just accepted. But who really knew what would happen if I did? Would I be under his wing just like that? Would things really be better for me?

I thought about Ichiou and his maliciousness, how he seemed to want me to be Rido’s protégé. Whatever Ichiou wanted was probably nothing good for me.

And then there was also the nobels, how some of them were not pleased at all at my showing up. If I accepted, would I be seeing them more often at gatherings like these? If I declined, would they try to harm me?

Rido watched me as I thought things over. I happened to glance up and caught his eyes. I didn’t say anything, and he didn’t say anything. But his gaze grew heavier the longer time stretched on.

I finally opened my mouth. Rido’s eyes flashed as he got ready to receive my answer. The nosy nobles listened in, too.

But contrary to what they were expecting, I didn’t answer Rido’s question right away.

“I’m sorry… I’m still so young and don’t know what a protégé is. I was just too embarrassed to say so before, but now I realize I can’t keep you waiting for so long.”

I looked down at my knees in what was hopefully an embarrassed-looking face. Picturing Yuki’s face and attitude in my mind as a reference, I then tried to make my most innocent, little girl face and glanced up at him. “Can you please tell me? What is a protégé?”

_There. I know what my definition of protégé is, but now I want to hear yours. Tell me what it means to be your protégé._

I was only nine. Typical aristocrat kids were intelligent and grew up with the best education. They were much smarter than ordinary human children. But I didn’t think that even they could read the books I was reading right now. The word ‘protégé’ was something I learned long ago. But these people didn’t know that. As far as they knew, I was just picked up by Rido from a random place and didn’t get a proper education.

The nobles around me looked at me strangely, sizing me up again. Maybe my words reminded them that I was just a little girl before them. Not some threat.

Rido mouth curved up. Then, to my surprise, he bent down on his knees and became eye-level with me. He smiled kindly at me, and I couldn’t tell if it was real or fake.

My eyes widened. The nobles and servants’ eyes widened. Some of the less deceptive ones had their mouths hanging open.

Rido’s eyes didn’t leave mine. Gently, he said, “It means I will always protect you. With me, you will never have to worry about anything ever again.”

My eyes almost popped out of my head. “I…”

_Woah. This was way too fast._

His personality had literally flipped 180 degrees. One minute he had been looking at me with a strange, unsettling look; the next minute, he was gentle.

Something was up. People didn’t change this fast. They just didn’t. Especially him. This was the man who had killed my parents and taken me away from my home.

_Was he bipolar? Was he possessed by some sort of demon?_

From the corner of my eye, I saw that the people below were also quite shocked. There were movements and whispering among them, but I didn’t dare turn my side to see. Not with Rido right in front of me.

I thought about another possibility. Maybe he was trying to trick me by pretending to be nice. Then once he had me, he would put his evil plan into action. The thought made me sick to the stomach.

Looking into his mismatched eyes, I didn’t think that it was something he wouldn’t do. In fact, it definitely sounded plausible. I wouldn’t put it past him.

He continued to wait patiently, and I attempted to smile.

_He’s a really good actor._

And to think, for a moment, he had almost had me. I now started to truly fear him even more. What was he truly capable of?

I swallowed and forced my mouth into a smile, not forgetting to play the innocent, little girl role. “Oh, I see now. Thank you for explaining to me.”

“Then have you thought about it?” he said. “Do you know what your answer is now?”

_No. My answer is no._

But I couldn’t say that. I just couldn’t. It wouldn’t end well for me if I did.

I had delayed as long as I could, but it couldn’t go any further. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, then snapped them open and smiled fully.

“My answer is  _yes_. I accept.”

_Now I have to hope that I won’t regret it._

A grin stretched out across his face, and for a moment, I thought I saw pure joy in his eyes.

_That can’t be. He’s a liar. Murderers don’t get happy for things like this. He’s just happy he has you where he needs you for his evil plan._

Rido got back up. The crowd cheered in the background, but I didn’t bother to look at them. Rido looked down at me and said, “Now kneel to me and repeat these vows.”

Still on my knees, I repeated all his words. I vowed to forget the things of the past and look to the future. I vowed to let him be my guardian and let myself be one of his own.

Only I knew that every word that came out of my mouth didn’t truly come from my heart.

After the end of the vows, he took my hands and hoisted me to my feet. He placed his palm on the side of my neck.

Although his palm was cool, I felt a burning sensation emitting from his hand, and then my skin felt a scorching heat. It stung me to the core.

“Unh—” I winced and instinctively tried to move away, but he grabbed my shoulder and held me in place.

“It’s alright,” he said. “Just a few more seconds.”

Like he said, after a few more seconds, the pain finally stopped. Rido moved his hand away, and I instead place my finger there. The skin there was surprisingly still smooth but felt a little… different. I tried to see the skin on my neck, but of course, I couldn’t, because the place was… well, on my neck.

I looked questioningly at Rido.  _What did you do to me?_

He looked pleased with this whole ordeal. In answer to my question, he turned to a nearby servant in the crowd and said, “Bring a mirror. Right now.”

The servant bowed his head and scampered away. He passed by the nobles on his way out of the room. The nobles didn’t pay any attention to him though. Their eyes were on my neck.

I didn’t like the way they were staring at me, and I felt the urge to cover up my neck with my hands. I grew more and more curious as to what Rido did to it.

Soon, the servant came back with a large, full-length mirror—I wondered how he managed to carry the whole thing without a single sign of struggle on his face—and he placed it in front of me and Rido.

“The mirror, my Lord and Lady.” Then he careened away into the crowd.

I frowned at his way of addressing me—the way he lumped me in with Rido, associating me with him—but before I could think further, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. All thoughts on the servant were forgotten.

The girl that stared back at me wore a beautiful white dress and her face was sweet and charming. Her eyes were wide and looked innocent. When I tilted my head to the side, she copied my movements at the exact same time.

I was entranced, not fully believing that the girl I saw in the mirror was me. She was way too different from the person I knew. The person who I had always been.

But it was hard to deny she was me when her appearance and movements were just like mine. She looked exactly how I had only a few hours before, just now with a different attire, hairstyle, and some face paint. But mostly, everything was the same. She had what I had…

Except for the tattoo on her neck.

I gasped and touched my neck. The girl I saw in the reflection did the same things as me. Only then was I sure.

It was real. I had a tattoo on my neck.

I only managed to see the red and black ink on my skin before Rido stepped up behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Do you see now? It’s the mark of my guardianship. No person will dare to ever go against you because they would be going against me.”

I pretended to be happy and nodded my head appreciatively. “Ah, I see now. Thank you.”

_Well, isn’t this just great? If I ever leave this place, I’ll never be able to go anywhere unless I cover my neck lest someone see the mark and make trouble for me._

Rido finally stepped back and went to sit on his throne-like-chair. He smiled down at me. “As my protégé, in the future, you will get to sit down in a similar chair next to mine. But for today, I’ll let you mingle with and get to know the other residents of this castle.”

I stared at him. He actually believed that I was into all this.  _Have you already forgotten what you did to me? Why would I ever just forget everything and just move on like that?_

I plastered on a fake smile and nodded. Then I turned around and got off the stage to join the crowd. The other nobles continued to talk and go about their own business, but I felt them stare at me once in a while. They were probably talking about me. There were a few noble kids about my age near me, but they chose to stay away.

I just stood there all alone and sighed.  _I suppose I’ll have to get used to this. For a while._

A while later, the servants started handing out glasses of blood wine to the nobles. One servant girl moved to offer me one.

I glanced at the glasses and thought,  _Why not?_  I’d never tasted any kind of wine before, but I heard from Kaname that it could uplift your mood.

“Sure,” I said and took a glass.

Before I could take a sip, Ichiou called for everyone’s attention.

“We have a new Lady of this castle, so in honor of her, I’d like to offer a toast.” He raised his glass in the air and said, “To new beginnings.”

The others on the floor also raised their glasses and echoed him. “To new beginnings.”

_This man sure knows how to control a crowd, doesn’t he?_

I clutched the glass in my hand, but no longer felt the desire to take a sip.

Before I could blink, a few of the other noble kids finally walked up to me. They surrounded me and looked at me curiously. They all wore fancy, designer clothing with not a wrinkle or stain in sight. I noticed that they moved so gracefully and even their posture was straight and like a mini-adult.

One child stepped up and smiled sweetly at me. It was a petite girl in a frilly, pink dress. “Hello,” she said. “My name is…”

I didn’t pay attention and missed her words. I was too busy wondering if this was how Kaname always felt at every vampire gathering. He said that the other kids had always clung to him and fawned over him, trying to get his attention. Their parents tried doing the same to Mother and Father.

Were these kids in front of me pushed by their parents to become friends with me so that they could gain Rido’s favor?

I had no idea at all. And I would have to figure this out all on my own.

It was at this moment that I finally realized exactly how lonely I really felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, poor Y/N. I was writing this and my heart hurt; it was as if I could feel all her sadness and loneliness. Is it just me because I was writing it or did you guys feel it, too?
> 
> Any comments on Rido?


	16. Salt

_ Years later… _

 

When I had always envisioned myself seeing the ocean for the first time, I never imagined that it would be under the current circumstances. I didn’t even get a chance to figure out how to work that conch shell. 

 

The gibbous moon was particularly bright and clear that night as it gleamed in the sky, almost looking whole and full against the darkness. But I didn’t have time to admire it. I was too busy rowing my small boat across the waves. 

 

The tides weren’t particularly kind to me, though. They kept trying to push me back to the shore I had just come from. The one I had just escaped. 

 

My muscles were straining to keep rowing. I had been going about this for half an hour now, and unfortunately, my arms were just not used to this kind of activity. But I kept going and going. I couldn’t give up now. 

 

Behind me, I heard a shout. I whipped my head around and saw a larger boat. This one was filled with a bunch of vampires, the ones that Rido had assigned to always keep watch over me. “Bodyguards,” he had called them. 

 

Yeah, right. More like spies for my movements. 

 

I might have pitied them for the fact that they would be in a whole lot of trouble for having me escape under their watch if it wasn’t for the fact that they were trying to recapture me at this moment. 

 

“Lady Kuran!” one of them shouted. “Please come back with us! Lord Kuran will be very upset if you don’t return back by morning!” 

 

_ Return back by morning? _ They made it sound as if this was just a childish attempt at running away. 

 

I gritted my teeth and my grip on the paddles tightened. 

 

_ No. I would not be going back. Ever.  _

 

Not when I was  _ this _ close to finally being free. If I returned…

 

Who knew if I would ever get this chance ever again? Rido would probably be even more wary of me and keep a sharper watch on my movements than before. 

 

I would probably be stuck in that place for the rest of my life, never to see what was on the other side of the castle walls again. 

 

I ignored their continued attempts to have me give up. I faced forward and kept rowing. If my research was correct, I would see land in another hour or so. Then I could finally let go of the paddles and rest my muscles. 

 

But did I have another hour or so? 

 

I looked behind me and saw that the boat was catching up. It was gaining speed as more vampires were helping with the rowing. The boat seemed to be getting bigger and bigger as the minutes passed. 

 

“No,” I gasped. I expended even more energy on rowing. I wish I could have found a better boat, but this was the only thing that was available to me when I was trying to be secretive about the whole ordeal. But now it was proving to all be useless as the one behind me was almost at my back. 

 

“Give up, Lady Kuran!” they shouted. “You have nowhere to go!”

 

I shook my head.  _ No no no. I’m not going back. _

 

The water around me sploshed and rocked the boat; some of it sprayed me and spilled into the boat. My clothes were getting soaked, and though I was shivering, my hands were steadfast on the paddles. 

 

My breathes were turning ragged, and I could taste salt on my tongue, salt that came from the seawater. The smell of fish, salt, fog, and perspiration entered my nostrils. 

 

But my mouth opened and my eyes widened when I saw the large waving heading toward me. I heard the panicked shouts from the boat behind me. 

 

I let out a sarcastic laugh. 

 

At least they would be going down with me. It’s what they deserved for choosing this job. They had all been so cocky the first time they got assigned to watch over me. 

 

The only thing I could think of was that if I ever planned an escape again, I would have to escape during a more convenient time when the tides were lower and most of the residents of the castle were more lax; apparently, getting them drunk during the party wasn’t good enough. Not all of them were drinking, anyway. 

 

An image of Rido flashed through my mind…

 

My mouth set into a grim line as I thought about what I said to him last during the party. I doubted he would “open his arms to me” like he did that time when he first instated me as his protégé. I had gone too far this time, and it was too late to regret anything now. 

 

Not that I did regret anything. I couldn’t now that I was already at this point. 

 

I saw the large tide growing in size and coming toward me. My boat became unstable, and more water sloshed into it. I was sinking before the tide even hit me. 

 

My last thoughts before I sank beneath the waves was that I had been so close yet so far. Just a little further more and I would have finally made it to the other side.

 

As my consciousness started to drift away and blackness started to enter my vision, I promised myself that if there was a next life, I would force fate to be kind to me the next time around. 

The End of the Main Route...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp. That's right; it's the end of the story. I might add the alternate routes though. Read on till the end for the details. 
> 
> I wasn't really planning on ending it there. I was going to make Y/N wash up on shore at Hanabusa's family beach house and take it from there. But then I thought nah, when am I ever going to get the chance to end one of my stories like this? 
> 
> But seriously, if not now, I was going to end the story after a few more chapters because I've only been working on this alone for almost three years now—both the original version and this revised one. I've been meaning to write something of my own for so long but I've never done it because I can only focus my attention on one story at a time. The sooner I end this story, the sooner I can move on to something else. 
> 
> I know I could have ended it at a happy ending but I just decided not to. This ending makes me feel more emotional and kind of represents how I'm feeling about the story right now. 
> 
> If you guys want, I could write a few extras. But I'll write them when I want to at my own pace. And the main story is finished. 
> 
> What do you want to see? (COmment next to the ones you want)
> 
> 1\. If Y/N washed up on shore at Hanabusa's beach house
> 
> 2\. If Y/N ended up back at the castle (Who knows what Rido is like after all these years? Maybe she was wrong about him? Or maybe not. What do you think?)
> 
> 3\. If Kaname or Yuki found her corpse (:/)
> 
> 4\. What happens if there is a next life?
> 
> 5\. If Y/N never ran away at all and just took her role as Lady Kuran
> 
> 6\. If Y/N overthrew Rido and became sole Queen of the castle
> 
> 7\. Other suggestions (I'm open to them)
> 
> I could write them all if you guys comment. 
> 
> For those of you who like my writing, I hope you'll stick around to support me in my next story. Don't worry, I'm not planning on ending that one like I did here at all. This time, it won't be a fanfiction, either, so I'll get free reign to write whatever I want without having to worry about making the characters in character to their original personality or abide by the rules of that universe and its cannon.


End file.
